LWA: An Afterstory
by MediocreWriter
Summary: After the 'Nine New Witches' unlocked the Grand Triskelion, everything seemed to fall into place. Luna Nova was thriving, magic was becoming well received once again by the public, and the students were back to enjoying a peaceful school life. Well... that was the case for maybe about a year. Croix comes back, and throws everybody off. And not necessarily in a bad way.
1. Chapter 1

**Yes... I am also in the depths of the LWA fandom too. Anyways, if you're into the show/fandom too, then enjooooy~**

* * *

A certain redheaded woman smiled exasperatedly as she watched Luna Nova's brown-haired, knucklehead get chased down a field by none other than Amanda O'Neill. The young, fiery American was shouting rather colourful obscenities towards the other girl she was in pursuit of. The said girl simply evaded Amanda's oncoming attacks with both ease, and unadulterated glee.

"Akko! When I get my hands on you I'm gonna kick your _as_ -!"

"What was _that_?" Akko playfully mocked as she continued to run away from the girl, "I can't hear you over the sound of you _eating_ _my dust_!"

Amanda growled, "that _does it_!"

Professor Chariot's smile turned into one of mild worry when both the girls whipped out their wands. She knew that the young witch's weren't actually going to _duel_ , per se... but with how _irked_ Amanda seemed to be, Chariot couldn't be so sure. The way in which Akko was provoking the American witch probably didn't help either. That was when the professor decided to exercise some caution.

"Girls! Don't be too roug-"

" _Slonhon Deance~!_ "

 _Ah- too late._

Everyone watched with both bewilderment, and barely contained mirth as Akko casted a _flower spell_ on the American witch's head. Out of nowhere, a red sunflower that was about three times the size of Amanda's head just... sprouted from on top of her. Chariot actually had to stifle a giggle from seeing how utterly _ridiculous_ Amanda looked with the massive flower on her head.

This action was immediately followed by the amused laughter and remarks from the rest of the students that were with the professor at the moment.

" _Gahahaha!_ Oh _man,_ look at O'Neill! She looks so _foolish_ with that sunflower on her head!" Hannah exclaimed as she howled with laughter. Her more darker-haired counterpart also seemed to be enjoying the small debacle too, "Akko is _so dead_." Barbara pointed out. The two girls were sitting together at a small stump that they transmuted into a table; sipping some of the tea that Professor Chariot had brewed for the group.

"Shouldn't they be hungry by now?" Jasminka suddenly chimed in, "they've been running around like crazy since we've finished our last midterm."

Chariot watched as the tiny engineer leaning against the larger girl regarded her question with a silent shrug. Constanze then faced the Russian witch, and expectantly opened her mouth. Jasminka merely giggled and fed the shorter girl some of the chips that she head in her hands.

"Geh... how do they have so much _energy_?" Sucy droned as she lounged next to her timid, glasses-clad roommate on the picnic blanket. The said roommate was incidentally engrossed in the latest volume of _Night Fall_.

Chariot noted with amusement that the Mushroom enthusiast was absentmindedly placing an assortment of flowers on the small, Finnish girl's head as she read. Sucy then looked back at Amanda's flowerhead, and then perked up as some form of inspiration hit her. However, before she could raise her wand to exercise some shenanigans of her own, Lotte swiftly flicked the other girl's nose; eyes still glued on her book.

"Sucy, we've been roommates with Akko for a _year_ ," Lotte began, "you know how excitable she is..."

Sucy simply shrugged at the statement and resumed with making the smaller girl's flower crown.

"One one think that Akko would've at least gained a _small_ amount of maturity over a year..." another voice joined in. Although the statement seemed like it was admonishing the brunette, Professor Chariot and the others knew that it was said with exasperated warmth. The professor turned her head to the side to face the Cavendish girl. She was staring on at Akko's antics with a sense of fondness, and Chariot couldn't help but smile at that. Throughout the last year, both Akko and Diana had improved their relationship in leaps and bounds.

Nowadays, it was actually uncommon to see one of the girls without the other. Despite the vast difference in their personalities and social standings, they always seemed to be stuck together like glue. Granted, the Professor didn't know how much of that was _coincidental_ or not... but still. It was very reminiscent to the relationship that Professor Chariot - well, she had been Chariot at the time - had with a certain lavender-haired genius.

She wasn't going to dwell on that fact for now.

 _I guess a lot could happen in one year._ Professor Chariot's gaze softened.

One year.

It's been one year since Akko and the 'Nine New Witches' unlocked the Grand Triskelion; ultimately releasing magic onto the world once again.

It's been one year since Akko hovered above the ground on her broom; pleasantly shocking everyone who had the chance to actually observe the feat.

It's been one year since Professor Chariot lost her ability to fly.

It's also been one year since Croix _vowed_ to Chariot that she'd help her regain her ability to fly.

Chariot became a little disheartened by that. Her brows furrowed upwards, and she could feel the slight upturn of her lips.

 _It's been one year since I've seen Cr-_

" _Vega Varulus_! _"_

The redheaded witch's eyes widened at the utterance of that spell, and she whipped her head to face the two rough-housing girls. She watched with horror as Amanda, quite literally, _kicked_ Akko's... erm, _behind_. However, with the help of the strengthening spell, the American witch basically sent the brown-haired girl flying towards their general direction. Suddenly, everyone who had been leisurely taking it easy at the picnic area started to let out panicked yelps as Akko came flailing towards them. To her left, the Professor heard Diana let out an exasperated sigh while she stood up to address the issue.

With a wave of her wand, the Cavendish girl uttered one spell.

 _"Paleis Capama!"_

Suddenly, a green, transparent orb engulfed the flying brunette. She immediately stopped her trajectory and became suspended in the air by Diana's spell. However, Akko didn't register that she had been saved, and was still flailing around in the orb; bracing herself for the impending scrapes and bruises that she had just been saved from by one Diana Cavendish.

"AAAHHHH-! _Holy Shi-!_ Ah-..." Akko finally settled down when she realized that she _wasn't_ going to eat dirt. She then stared feebly down at the blonde witch that helped her out. Diana simply let out an exasperated huff and swiftly deactivated the spell. This caused the brunette to fall unceremoniously onto the ground; right on her butt.

"Heh... Thanks, Diana!" Akko beamed up at the blonde witch. Diana shook her head good-naturedly and helped the girl up; but then she sighed when she saw how _dirty_ Akko got her uniform. Everyone then watched as the Cavendish girl gently patted the girl's shoulders, in an attempt to wipe some of the dirt off. Everyone also noticed how the blonde girl's hands lingered a little bit more longer than they should have.

Diana smiled warmly at the hyperactive brunette.

"What am I to do with you?"

In response, Akko scratched the back of her head awkwardly and laughed.

It was then Professor Chariot's turn to smile.

 _Well isn't that a familiar scene_?

However, before the redheaded witch could get lost in her nostalgia, a vibration interrupted her thoughts. She swiftly grabbed the small device out of her pocket. It was a tiny, hand-held pocket mirror that she modified into a communication device with magic. She figured that it'd be easier to communicate with the other professors this way.

She opened the small mirror.

" _I-Is this thing on?"_ Professor Finneran's voice came through. Chariot smiled with mirth when she was met with the image of the other Professor's face unnecessarily close to the mirror-screen.

"Yes, Professor Finneran. It's on, but I don't think you need to lean so closely into the screen..."

The older, brown-haired witch promptly leaned back and coughed. " _Ahem-! Yes, of course._ "

"So what do I owe the pleasure of you contacting me on my mirror?" Chariot questioned politely.

" _Ah, yes... that. E-Erm..._ " Professor Finneran paused, " _we are holding a staff meeting to address a certain... topic of interest, or issue that may have arose. If you can, please get Miss Cavendish to accompany you too. That is all._ " and with that, the screen shut off; leaving the redheaded witch to stare at her own reflection. Chariot simply shrugged at the message. She'd find out the details about it soon enough.

Before she could turn to address Diana, the girl already had her broom and was waiting for her. The Professor smiled apologetically at the young girl, but she didn't seem to mind at all. It wouldn't be the first time the prodigy was called in for help by the Professors at their school.

"Aww! You guys are leaving already?!" Akko whined. Both Chariot and Diana let out a little exasperated huff at that. It would seem that they both didn't enjoy bursting the hyperactive girl's bubble... but sometimes, duty called. And they _both_ had quite a bit of responsibility to attend to when it came to their academic lives at Luna Nova. Which was a little ridiculous, Chariot thought; considering that Diana was only a student...

"I'll meet up with you... _all_ , later. At dinner." The redheaded witch didn't fail to notice the way in which the young Cavendish added everyone else in as an afterthought.

Akko pouted, "Alright! But you better not work yourself too hard, Okay?" Diana playfully rolled her eyes, but nonetheless nodded at Akko's request. The young brunette then turned towards her mentor. "See ya tomorrow morning Professor Chariot!" Chariot merely patted the girl's head before walking towards Diana and mounting the student's broom. Diana regarded her politely, and hopped on the broom too. The Cavendish girl then uttered the flight spell, and they both were lifted up in the air.

They both straddled the broom in a comfortable silence while Diana guided it to the principal's office.

"Professor?"

Chariot jumped slightly, and nearly fell off at Diana's sudden attempt at conversation. "Ah-! Er... Yes, Diana?"

"Do you have any idea as to why we are both being called into the staff meeting?"

The young Professor shrugged at that, "I'm sorry, I haven't a clue."

"I see..."

The conversation pretty much stopped after that. Not that either of them minded, of course; it was a comfortable silence.

 _I guess we'll find out when we get there..._

* * *

 _Oh... she was NOT supposed to find out this way..._

Criox fought the urge to visibly shiver when she felt not one, but _two_ glares being aimed at the back of her head. Which namely came from one Chariot Du Nord and one Diana Cavendish. The purple-haired woman didn't really blame them, though.

After she had left to find a cure for Wagandea's curse, she more or less so left Chariot on radio silence.

She didn't contact her _at all_.

And it wasn't like she _didn't_ want to; well, maybe that was a part of it... and then there was the fact that she literally devoted _all_ of her time on finding a cure for Wagandea. And when Croix became engrossed in something, it was borderline obsessive - which was an unhealthy habit that she was _trying_ to fix. But... with regards to her long-time friend, she felt that she didn't _deserve_ to talk to the redheaded witch until she redeemed herself. The whole reason as to _why_ she was even at Luna Nova at the moment was because she was _positive_ that their archives had the key to the curse.

 _Ugh... now that I think about it, my rationale for not talking to her was rather stupid. I eventually came back anyway..._

Then there was Luna Nova's current prodigy: Diana Cavendish; who incidentally was boring _holes_ into the back of Croix's head at the moment. Croix _really_ didn't blame the platinum blonde witch for looking so openly perturbed by her presence.

"Headmistress Holbrooke, please. I can assure you that I don't need a _kid_ babysi-"

"Supervising~"

Croix bit back a groan at the older woman's correction, but nevertheless continued on, "Erm... _supervising_ me while I continue out my parole at Luna Nova!"

"That is where you're _wrong_ , Professor Croix." a certain, _rigid_ Professor chimed in. Croix turned her head towards Finnelan, and fought the urge to use the _Murowa_ spell on her. Finnelan continued, "although the reports that we received from the Correctional Rehabilitation Centre show that you've made good progress, we still cannot fully _trust_ you to your own devices at this institution. The last time we did that, it did not end well."

"But does a _kid_ have to-!"

"Who else would be better suited to keep you in line than Miss Cavendish herself?" Finnelan interrupted. The older woman then narrowed her eyes, "Why? Would you prefer if Professor Char-"

"Nope! No..." Croix suddenly blurted out. She scratched the back of her head, "Luna Nova's favourite Idol-Prodigy thing is a-okay with me!"

She heard Diana grunt at that last part.

The lilac-haired Professor then returned her gaze back to the principal; who openly seemed to be enjoying this whole ordeal.

"Well... if we all appear to be on the same page..." Miranda began, "then I believe that this staff meeting is adjourned." Everyone simply muttered their own affirmative responses to the old woman, and began filing themselves out of the office.

However, when they finally got out, Croix was met with the annoyed looks of the two witch's who were drilling holes in the back of her head in the office. She looked back-and-forth between them. Chariot was giving Croix an unreadable expression; but the lilac-haired witch _knew_ that the other woman was well, _pissed_ at her at the moment. Diana, on the other hand, seemed to be incredibly inconvenienced by this whole arrangement.

Croix sighed.

She decided to deal with Chariot first.

"L-Listen, Char-!"

"No need to explain yourself, Professor _Meridies_ "

 _Yiiiikes!_

Not even the deepest levels of the Frozen Tundra could be as cold as Chariot at the moment.

Croix suddenly found it hot, and pulled at the collar of her green poncho, "E-Erm-!"

"It would seem that we both have the same teaching schedule and neighbouring Room Block's. So I will see you tomorrow throughout our morning classes, Professor _Meridies_."

The lilac-haired woman gulped. "Uh... yeah." and with that, the redheaded woman basically _stomped_ away. After Chariot's figure was out of her line of vision, she slumped.

"Well _that_ went splendidly _._ " Croix sarcastically remarked to nobody in particular.

"Hmmm... Indeed." another voice noted with amusement.

Croix jumped at the new voice, but then she remembered that the Cavendish girl was basically made to be her _babysitter_ for God knows how long. She then turned her attention to the young Prodigy, and sighed yet again.

"Well-"

"I will escort you to your living quarters." Diana began, "I'll have you know that you will be in the room across from my school mates and I. So if you need to go anywhere, do not hesitate to knock on my door. If I am away, then simply activate the call button on your monitoring Rune." she pointed at the button-shaped Rune placed on Croix when she got to Luna Nova, "the corresponding Rune on my wrist will notify me when you need me to take you anywhere in the school."

Croix was a little put off with how curt the girl was being, but she suppose it was to be expected. "O-Okay..." The Cavendish girl proceeded to walk up to the woman, and rather roughly handed her a map with directions to her new 'living quarters'.

"Now... if you'll excuse me, I have dinner plans with some friends that I must attend to." Before Croix could even say anything, the young witch had already begun to walk away. However, she stopped after a few steps and Croix felt another shiver travel down her spine when she saw the threatening glare on the young girl's face.

"And if you even so much as have _intentions_ to hurt Akk- er, my _friends_..." Diana began, "I will not hesitate to take measures into _my own_ hands, Professor Croix. I can assure you _that_."

 _Well damn_.

Again, the girl walked away before the woman could utter a response.

Soon, Croix found herself alone in the hallway.

She looked up, and drawled out a dramatic sigh.

"Well Shit..."

* * *

"Holy _Shit-!_

"Language, O'Neill!" Diana huffed.

"Holy _Crap!"_

Diana sighed.

After the rather _stupid_ meeting that she had with the teachers regarding Croix, Diana had immediately left to go have dinner with her friends. Naturally, she told everybody what the meeting was about, and now, all her friends were buzzing about in some strange form of apprehensive excitement. The young Cavendish girl _thought_ that she could finish this school year off in peace, but apparently some cosmic being had other plans for her. In the back of her mind, she wondered if a certain _Olde witch_ had anything to do with this, but she quickly debunked the thought.

Diana was pretty sure that Woodward didn't actually have power over the affairs of the _Mystical Justice System_.

The _stupid_ Mystical Justice System.

"They're actually going to let that crazy person _teach_ here again?!" Amanda exclaimed.

 _Those were initial thoughts exactly._ However, Diana wasn't actually going to voice her dismay out loud. She was a Cavendish, after all; and acting childish over her situation was unsightly and unbecoming of her. Instead, she tried to be mature about it.

The keyword being _tried._

"She had been rehabilitated enough in the past year for them to think that she was fit to come back as a teacher." Diana informed them; trying to keep the obvious annoyance out of her voice. "And apparently she believes that there's information in Luna Nova's Archives that could help with her cure for Wagandea's Curse."

At that last part, a certain brunette perked up, "Wait, so does that mean she might be close to finding a cure?!"

Diana pondered that, "Possibly-"

"That's _great_! Hey! Maybe she really did turn a new leaf. I mean if she hadn't, she wouldn't be working so hard to cure Professor Chariot, would she?"

The Cavendish girl didn't have the heart to voice her doubts towards the girl across the table. The way in which Akko was beaming at her with unadulterated hope seemed to squash the doubts that she had about the woman in her mind. She simply sighed, and crossed her arms.

"It's... probable, I guess."

Akko then let out an excited squeal. "Oooh! I can't wait to talk to her! She's probably been _all around the world_ , trying to find ingredients for a cure for the curse!"

"R-Right..."

"And, AND-! Ah- are you gonna eat that, Diana?" the blonde witch raised her brow when she saw that Akko was pointing right at her tart.

She stared at the brunette blankly. "Yes."

"Oh Okay, thaanks~"

"Akko, I didn't say no."

"Ah-"

There was a bit of a silent standoff between the two witches. And for some reason, _everyone_ seemed to tense up. Both Hannah and Barbara were holding onto each other for dear life. Lotte had an expression of genuine concern plastered on her face, whereas Sucy stared on at the interaction with a smirk. Then there was the green team, who were more or less so excited about either of the girl's next potential actions. It was needlessly dramatic, really.

But Diana knew one thing for sure: she wasn't going to give up the tart.

After everything that happened today, she deserved the _damn_ tart.

 _It's MY damn tart._

"Ssss...natched!" Akko grabbed the tart out of Diana's plate and proceeded to run away.

"A-Akko!"

"Catch me if you can, Diana!"

She shot up from her chair and chased the brunette.

* * *

Chariot plopped onto her bed with an unceremonious _thud!_

Suddenly, her cheeks grew hot and she sat cross-legged on her bed with her face pressed against a pillow. She let out a muffled scream against the said pillow, which inadvertently caused Alcor to squawk at her in what seemed to be concern.

The redheaded witch raised her head up and then blankly stared out of the skylight window on the ceiling.

"Oh tomorrow is going to be _awkward_."

She plopped back down onto her bed in despair.

 _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH-_

* * *

 **I can assure you that this fic will primarily be fluffy. I just love this Fandom so much, I had to write something for it! Don't know if this is going to be a short or long fic yet. I just know that I'm having fun writing it.**

 **ahahaha hope you guys will have fun reading it!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Lemme just leave this here for you wonderful people :P Lmao have fun reading it!**

* * *

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Croix grumbled at the intruding sound that dared to wake her from her slumber. With a small huff, she took a peek out of her left eye to see if the sun was even up yet. She groaned; it was not. Not even the freaking morning birds were chirping away to signify that it was an acceptable time to _wake up_. Instead of answering the blasted knocks at her door, Croix burrowed herself deeper into her pillow; hoping that whoever was trying to fetch her would _go away_.

 _Knock...Knock..._

Croix smirked. If this intruder _thought_ that she was going to get up and answer that door, they had another thing coming for them. When it came to stubbornness, Croix had that in spades. Hell...she had _ten years_ of diabolical planning to prove for it. This person was no match for-

 _Knock-!_

Then a muffled, high-pitched, frustrated groan.

 _SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!_

Croix shot up from her cocoon of comfort and stomped her way to the door.

"Whoever you are, you better have a very _convincing_ explanation for disturbing me at this _Godforsaken_ hour _-!_ uh..." all of her crankiness immediately dissipated when she was met with the image of an equally as cranky, Diana Cavendish; who was standing in front of her door. The young witch had her arms crossed and was giving Croix a tired, but pointed glare. The lilac-haired woman noted, with slight amusement, that even the Cavendish girl seemed annoyed by being awake at what was assuringly, an ungodly hour. Despite there being no actual physical signs of dishevelment; one look at the young Prodigy's facial expression would be enough to tell anybody that the girl was... well, cranky.

Before she could question the girl why they _both_ had to be awake at this 'ungodly hour'; Diana beat her to it.

"You do remember that you are still a Professor at this institution, don't you?"

Croix broke eye contact with the kid, and looked to the side guiltily. "E-Erm, I-!"

"And you _do know_ that you have morning classes to teach, right?"

She coughed. "Of course, I-!"

"Then, _Professor_ Croix, would you be so kind as to _prepare_ yourself to teach those classes? Promptly, if possible?"

 _Jeez, this kid's backing me up into a corner..._

The older woman pulled at the collar of her plain white PJ shirt, and then finally looked the kid in the eye. Diana was simply giving her an expression that bordered towards the feeling of admonishment; which caused Croix to cough awkwardly into her hand once more. She then sighed, "Alright, Alright" Croix relented, "I'll go get ready to teach my classes..."

Diana nodded, "Very well, I'll be wai-"

"Ah- No need to wait..." Croix interrupted as she promptly turned around to her desk. She swiftly grabbed the green poncho hanging on her chair, and put it on. When she turned back around, Diana was giving her a mild look of disbelief.

"You're going to teach _in that_?"

Croix scoffed, "I _refuse_ to wear the drab school uniform that they make the teachers wear."

"Are you seriou-!? You know what, I'll drop it." Diana sighed, "I know you're old enough to know about the implications of outward appearance on professionalism. I need _not_ to remind you of how wearing _sweatpants_ is rather unbecoming of a witch; let alone a _professor_."

Despite being passive-aggressively admonished by the young girl, Croix couldn't help but smirk at her.

 _How uncute_.

Her eyes briefly stared onto a faraway place as a flood of memories began to engulf her mind.

 _Heh... kind of like how I used to be..._

However, before she could get lost in the memories of her past, Croix remembered that she _presently_ had to teach a class. Her vision focused back onto the young Cavendish, who seemed to be getting more and more annoyed by the second. The lilac-haired woman then smiled, "Well, if we are finished talking about my choice of apparel, Miss Cavendish, would you kindly lead me to where I will be teaching my lectures?"

"With _p_ _leasure_."

Croix didn't fail to hear the bite in the Diana's words. The girl then turned around and led the way; with Croix trailing behind her in silence. As they walked through the halls of Luna Nova, the sun's rays began to peek into the building's old windows; dimly illuminating their path. Student's began filing out their rooms to make their way to their classes. Some of the girls took notice of Croix and got weary; whispering to one another as if they were staring at a scandal. Then, there were others who either ignored or completely overlooked the older woman. Which she was actually very thankful for.

The last thing she wanted was to be the centre of attention.

As the two witches continued to walk, the rays of the sun shone a little brighter into Luna Nova's halls; and soon, Croix could hear the morning birds chirp their little, happy birdsong. It was a rather serene atmosphere, really. Well... if it weren't for the fact that she had to wake up so God damn early in the morning, Croix _might_ have enjoyed it more.

Her gaze then found it's way back to the Cavendish girl. She pondered the thought of striking up a conversation with her, but decided against it for now. The kid was doing a very good job at letting Croix know that this whole thing was an inconvenience for her. And honestly? If she were in the young Cavendish girl's shoes, she probably would've been _worse._ So instead, she just took in her surroundings. Shortly, the lilac-haired witch could see the specks of dust particles wafting throughout the air, which elicited a sudden urge to sneeze. She didn't, of course; but she did scratch her nose as it was irritated by the damn particles.

 _Geh... it doesn't help that I'm allergic to dust! Why don't they clean this place more ofte-_

"Here, Professor _Meridies_."

Croix nearly jumped out of her skin, and even Diana seemed to be surprised by the sudden intrusion. The short-haired witch gulped, and turned to face the redheaded woman who addressed her. Surprisingly, Chariot had her hand extended and was offering Croix a handkerchief.

"Y-You don't need to-!"

"Just _take it_ , Croix." Chariot interrupted, "I know how much your allergies act up around this time of the year. And _I know_ how the dust doesn't help."

Croix simply gave the redheaded witch a thankful smile as she took the handkerchief. "Thank you, Chariot."

The other woman huffed indignantly, "you're welcome, Cro-"

" _Whoa~!_ Diana wasn't kidding when she said you were back!" another sudden, but bubbly voice exclaimed loudly. Croix knew who that all too familiar voice belonged to, and she actually smiled when she saw Akko pop up from behind her redheaded mentor. However, before she could even address the hyperactive brunette, a certain _cranky blonde_ had beat her to it.

"Akko! Please refrain from yelling in the hallways!"

Akko scratched the back of her head, "Heh... sorry, Diana!"

Diana's gaze softened, "Just... be more mindful in the future, okay?" In response, Akko gave the blonde a cute, affirmative nod. The two older women then watched with amusement as Diana smiled at the brunette, but soon she gave her a quizzical look, "Why are you up so early? You usually don't come to class until it literally begins..."

Suddenly, Akko _bopped_ the young Prodigy in the nose. And Croix actually had to bite down a laugh. The blonde heiress seemed to be extremely flustered at the, rather endearing, gesture that Akko just did and couldn't find the proper words to lecture her.

"Silly! That was _before_ I started waking up _suuuper_ early to help you out with your morning patrols throughout the year! And we did those like, _everyday._ " Akko answered, "Now I'm used to waking up at around this time. I kinda didn't know what to do with myself when you said that you had to escort Professor Croix everyday to her morning lectures... Then I remembered that Professor Chariot also had morning lectures to teach, so I figured that I'd tag along with her!"

"R-Right..."

" _And_ now we can still see each other during the mornings!"

Diana slowly began to flush at that, "F-Fool! We would see each other either way. We have classes together..."

Akko pouted, "But it's not the _saame!_ Now Professor _Croix_ is going to be the one who gets the luxury of seeing a sleepy Diana!"

"A-Akko!"

"What? You're so _adorable_ in the morn-mmfh!"

Croix and Chariot watched as the esteemed Diana Cavendish all but shoved her hand onto Akko's mouth.

Now Croix understood _why_ the young blonde was so cross with her. Sure, she endangered many a human and witches alike with her nefarious plans in the past. So she figured that the Cavendish girl still associated Croix with acts of villainy and the like; which she _believed_ was the reason why she had been on the receiving end of some of the girl's attitude.

However, seeing what had just transpired between the young Prodigy and a certain brunette... Croix now had a different idea that explained Diana's bratty behaviour towards her.

She almost laughed.

 _The kid's freaking mad at me for taking away her 'morning flirting time' with Akko!_

Suddenly, the words that came out of Croix's mouth left before she could even think about them.

She definitely did not want to pass up an opportunity to tease the young Cavendish.

"Are you two _daaat-_ "

"We should be on our way!" Diana, rather loudly, stated. She cleared her throat, "A-Ahem! Well, Professor Croix, I will be attending Professor Chariot's Magical Astronomy lecture for the first half of the morning. If you need me, please activate the rune on your wrist; just as I have told you yesterday." The Cavendish girl then regarded Chariot, "Shall we, Professor?"

All Chariot did was smile at the flustered girl, and nodded.

Croix then watched as Akko lifted Diana's hand from her mouth, "Wai-!"

"Well! Let us be off."

And with that, the Cavendish girl whisked Akko away... with a mildly amused Chariot in tow.

Croix simply smirked at their receding forms.

"Well... I guess I should be on my way too."

She turned towards the door that supposedly led to her own class. Soon, a sense of determination began to wash over the lilac-haired witch. If she was going to be stuck with teaching the kids at this school again, she might as well do it with _some_ enthusiasm. With that last thought in mind, she opened her lecture door grandly.

"Good morning, Ladies-! Ah..."

 _It's empty._

* * *

Diana attempted to focus on Professor Chariot's lecture; really, she did. She caught on to the main concepts that the redheaded teacher was trying to get across to the students. Unfortunately, for the better part of the professor's class, Diana's mind would wander towards completely irrelevant thoughts. Which mostly involved the idiotic arrangement that she had been placed with one Croix Meridies. Sure, she was a Cavendish; and _sure_ the motto that her ancestors held was "Affection" or "to be Affectionate." But by the Nine it could sometimes be so _hard_.

Diana felt a pending headache gnaw at her temples.

The whole ordeal involving the lilac-haired _villain_ that she was all but forced to 'keep in line' kept on distracting her mind. Well... she felt more _irked_ than distracted. But either way, it was diverting her attention from more important things; like her academics.

And Croix wasn't the only one who had a knack for diverting the young Cavendish's attention.

" _Pssst!_ "

Diana exhaled sharply, and ignored the girl behind her. Even though the Cavendish admittedly liked seeing the hyperactive girl _before_ class, the same couldn't actually be said for the times _during_ class.

" _Pssssssst! Oi, Diana!_ " the girl persisted.

The blonde witch didn't relent.

 _"Akko, leave the damn girl alone..."_

Diana heard a small, indignant huff, " _But Sucy! It's of the utmost importance!_ " Akko exaggerated.

" _We're in class, talk to her later-! oh jeez..."_

Suddenly, Diana heard the worried voice of Akko's more reserved roommate, " _A-Akko, don't pok-_ "

 _Poke. Poke._

Something seemed to snap in Diana. She immediately twisted her body around to reprimand the hyperactive brunette for invading her personal space (at least during class). However, the blonde witch's voice got caught in her throat when she saw how _close_ the girl behind her was. When she actually turned around, their faces were merely _centimetres_ away from each other and the Cavendish girl's mind momentarily went blank. All she could register in her mind was the fact that her face grew increasingly hot.

A second went by...

Then three...

Then ten...

"U-Uh... D-Diana? Hey, are you okay? Why do you look so red?" Akko then _pressed_ her forehead against Diana's own, "Do you have a fever?"

And _that_ was what jolted the young Cavendish girl back to reality.

With a bit _too much_ haste, the blonde witch jumped away from the hyperactive girl; which unintentionally caused a bit of a ruckus. In the _middle_ of their lecture. Suddenly, the Cavendish girl heard the pathetically hushed snickers of Akko's mushroom-obsessed roommate. Her gaze briefly flitted to Lotte, who just seemed to hold a sympathetic look towards the blonde. From her peripheral vision, she could see that her _own_ roommates were giving her worried, but curious glances too.

"Diana? Is there a problem?"

Diana suppressed the urge to 'eep!' out loud, and promptly turned back around to face their Magical Astronomy Professor. She cleared her throat, and straightened up her posture. "N-No, Professor Chariot. Everything is fine. I was just.. _distracted_." she made sure to say that last part with a little edge in it. In response, Akko let out a small, awkward laugh to which Diana simply huffed at.

Professor Chariot merely raised a brow at that, but nevertheless decided not to press on it. "R-Right...well, as I was saying: in this particular lesson, we will be focusing on how the stars are used to determine the details about the destiny or fate of one's love; which is relevant considering that it is February - a month that is celebrated as one for romance and the like." She smiled, and seemed to brace herself for the class' reaction. "Essentially, today we are going to be delving in on how to accurately read a person's love horoscope."

Suddenly, the room erupted in a number of excited cheers and chatter. The Cavendish girl thought this particular reaction was to be expected. Considering that Luna Nova was an all-girls school, she knew that things like love and romance were popular topics of interest for the student body.

Diana, on the other hand, was filled with a sense of dread at the thought of another person trying to pinpoint details about her so-called 'fated love'. This was mostly because she believed that 'love' was irrelevant for her at this point in time. As of right now, all she wanted to do was enhance her magical skill while maintaining the amicable connections that she made with her friends. The other tiny reason as to why she wasn't keen on this Magical Astronomy Unit was because she believed that her 'love' characteristics should stay _private._

Diana's potential 'love life' shouldn't be anybody's business.

"Alright! Class, settle down..." Professor Chariot firmly stated. Everyone eventually hushed, but still excitedly anticipated the Professor's next words. "Now... would anybody like to volunteer to do a reading on a fellow classmate? Don't worry, I'll guide you through it as you go along, and the demonstration will not be formally evaluated."

Expectedly, various students shot their hands up in earnest to complete the demonstration. Diana might've raised her hand too, but this particular topic wasn't of much interest for her; so she decided to sit this one out.

Professor Chariot began to scan the room for possible volunteers, but then Diana saw her eyes widen in pleasant surprise when she stared in her general direction. Curious, the young Prodigy followed the Professor's line of vision, and actually had to prevent herself from gawking at who had their hand up.

Currently _volunteering_ for an in-class spell reading assignment was one Sucy Manbavaran.

"Oh? Well this is a pleasant change in pace. Sucy, please come up!"

With a nonchalant, and almost _disinterested_ shrug, the witch in question simply walked to the front of the class. Everyone hushed once again as they watched the girl in apprehensive anticipation. She usually wasn't the type to actively participate in class activities. Even Diana seemed to grow wary of what the girl was going to do; but that was mostly because of the plotting stare that she was receiving from the girl.

Diana inwardly huffed. _She's going to pick me..._

"Okay, Sucy. Who would you like to do a reading on?"

The young Prodigy prepared herself to stand up.

"Atsuko Kagari, Please."

Diana leaned back into her chair.

 _What._

"What?" Akko abruptly exclaimed, "M-Me?"

Sucy smirked, "Yes, you."

Akko became an uneasy at that, but nevertheless followed through with the girl's request. Professor Chariot also seemed a little thrown off at the random suggestion. However, that didn't deter her from furthering the lesson. The young Professor merely patted the girls on their shoulders, and continued on to guide Akko to the centre of the front; where all the students could see.

"Alright Sucy, I would like you to begin the reading by focusing your magical energy around Akko; try and create a barrier of some sort."

Sucy swiftly lifted her wand from her uniform, and did as she was told. Soon, a transparent orb of magic surrounded the hyperactive girl in the front. The mushroom-loving witch then shifted her gaze towards Professor Chariot, and awaited for further guidance.

"Good! Now, just as with regular horoscope readings, try channeling your magic _into_ Akko; however, rather than concentrating on her defining personality traits, I would like you to focus on compatibility traits that _go_ with her personality... If possible."

Shortly after, the orb that surrounded Akko transformed into various rings that began to rotate and overlap around her. Diana could see little, star-like markings situated throughout the rings. She also noticed that the stars would align or merge every so often if they came in contact. It was very much like the time when the Prodigy read Akko's horoscope herself a while back.

"Now... you _should_ be ready to read Akko's love horoscope."

At that moment, Sucy decided to give Diana a devilish smirk. The blonde witch narrowed her eyes.

 _What is she planning?_

"Alright, Akko! What do you want to know about your one true love?" Sucy dramatically questioned; all the while she still _somehow_ managed to sound disinterested.

Akko actually seemed to ponder that. For a couple of moments, the hyperactive brunette had her face contorted in contemplation; but suddenly, she perked up.

"Ooooh! Tell me about their personality and physical traits."

Sucy's smirk turned into a wicked smile, "As you wish, my friend." the Filipino witch then briefly flitted her gaze back at Diana, and continued to smile like a madwoman.

"Ah- in terms of personality, I see your fated person being a rather posh individual! They _may_ or may not come from a long line of nobility; they also appear to be a person who contains a very long history of magic ability, and-"

Slowly... Diana realized what Sucy was doing and she almost let out a frustrated groan.

 _She... She's just describing ME!_

"-and this person has an, almost annoying-" Diana let out a small growl at that, "- amount of passion for Magic and the traditions of Witchcraft! Your potential lover also has a very _serious_ and _diligent_ personality; and seems to be quite the scholar."

"Whaaaaat?" Akko began to whine, "they sound like a total stick in the mud!"

Sucy let out a snicker at that, and Diana tried not to jump out of the class window.

 _I am not a stick in the mu- wait! Why do I even care?!_

"Would you like me to continue, _dear friend_?"

Akko pouted, "well, you might as well!"

Before Sucy continued her 'reading,' Diana made sure to discreetly send her the most threatening glare she could muster up. Sucy, however, didn't seem to be perturbed by her animosity and instead appeared to be _fuelled_ by it. If it were possible, the mushroom-enthusiasts smile widened even more so.

"As for physical characteristics: your potential fated lover is 168 centimetres tall with deep blue eyes-"

The young Prodigy widened her eyes in slight panic.

 _Wait she is being too specific!_

"They are a conventionally beautiful person, with rather pale skin and-"

 _Manbavaran what the HELL!?_

"they have platinum blonde hair with side-swept bangs and tea-green high-GAH!"

Now... in hindsight, Diana probably would've dealt with this situation more gracefully.

 _However_ , with the little time she had, the Prodigy couldn't utter an appropriate spell in time to prevent her (now _debatable_ ) friend from continuing on with her _painfully obvious_ description of Akko's 'fated person.'

So... instead of uttering a spell...

Diana threw her wand.

Literally.

She just chucked her _freaking_ _wand_ at Sucy's face.

Thankfully, it hit its target but still... this was not one of the young Prodigy's finest moments. Everyone openly _gawked_ at her uncharacteristic behaviour, but before anyone could comment on it, the school bell rang.

"C-Class dismissed, ladies..." Professor Chariot announced after a slight delay. She, along with the rest of the class, still seemed to be taken aback by Diana's actions.

Diana shot up from her chair, and, with as much dignity she could muster, _sped-walked_ out of the lecture room. On the outside, it appeared that she was undisturbed by her own actions that she exhibited during class. She strode through the halls with her usual sense of dignity and grace.

But on the inside... well:

 _OH MY GOD!_

* * *

 **This was A LOT of fun to write xD Yup, this is probably going to be a moderate-long fic. If y'all read any of my other works, you know that I love dragging things out :D ahahaha**

 **There are also going to be ships on the side for you guys to take in too *cough cough* SuLotte *cough cough* ;)**

 **Hope y'all will continue to like it!**

 **And Reviews are always welcomed!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Let me just drop this here right for y'all.**

 **LOL enjoy :P**

* * *

At the sound of the morning bell, Croix fought the urge to openly _whine_. For the past three hours, the lilac-haired witch had been bored out of her mind; staring at the four walls of her _very empty_ classroom. If she had known that her classes were going to be this desolate and mind-numbingly _quiet_ , Croix would've brought some research materials to work on! She figured that if she was going to be _alone_ in a massive room with no distractions whatsoever, then she might as well use this time to be productive _somehow_.

 _I think the Professors made my class optional just to hurt my feelings_.

In retrospect, Croix probably should have expected this outcome. Who in their right mind would actually attend the class of the sole person who basically almost nuked the other side of the world? She wouldn't be surprised if she were used as a text-book example of 'evil'/'diabolical' beings by now in both regular and Magical institutions alike. God, when she desired to be remembered and leave a legacy behind, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

So... to say that Croix's ego had been bludgeoned down a couple of pegs would be somewhat of an understatement.

She stared at the massive clock suspended on the far side of the room. It had been approximately _five minutes_ since the bell rang; and this time, Croix actually let out an overly dramatic groan.

"This is so _boring_!"

 _BAM!_

 _"Whoa!_ " Croix jumped from her chair and whipped her wand out at the intruder that just _busted_ through the classroom door. However, when she saw just _who_ had basically bulldozed their way into her empty lecture hall, she quirked a curious brow.

"D-Diana? What are you-?"

"I will be spending my free period here."

Croix slowly nodded, "Right... well, um do as you please...?" Diana simply gave her a nod of her own and promptly went to sit at one of the desks near the front of the class. She kind of just... sat there; and the lilac-haired witch noted that the young girl didn't even have any study materials with her. If Croix observed her more closely, she could see the expression of self-loathing slowly, but surely, making its way onto the young Cavendish girl's face. Her brows were knitted together in some weird display of embarrassment, and she was sighing _really heavily_ every five seconds or so.

If Croix didn't know any better she'd think that Diana was-

 _Is...Is she moping?_

Oh Croix _had_ to know what happened.

"Is... everything alright, Diana?"

Croix's question seemed to snap the young heiress out of her trance, but the girl regarded her neutrally. "Yes, Professor Croix, everything is fine."

"So... are you just going to sit there and sulk for the next two hours?"

Diana's eyes widened in embarrassment at Croix's observation. "W-What-?! I-I am not _sulking_!"

"Your drawled out sighs beg to differ, Miss Cavendish" the lilac-haired woman remarked with amusement.

Diana simply crossed her arms indignantly, and sat in her seat in stubborn silence at that. Croix inwardly plotted how she was going to go on about this carefully. It's not like she was going to use the information that she got from Diana against her. How the hell was she going to benefit from the problems of an adolescent girl? Croix was just really, _really_ bored at the moment; and she could tell that she was developing somewhat of a habit of teasing the young Cavendish.

She couldn't help it.

It was like interacting with a juvenile version of herself.

"You know... you might as well vent about it." Croix began. She noticed that Diana directed her sharp gaze back at her, and she took her silence as a cue to continue on. "bottling things up inside doesn't do anybody any good, y'know? Take it from _me._ I bottled up all my anger and ended up almost causing a total catastrophe on the other side of the freaking world. Not to mention, internalizing your feelings has the potential to do horrendous things to your psyche..."

She then watched as Diana seemed to be at war with herself. A storm of emotions began going through the the girl's face, and soon, Croix let out a triumphant smirk when Diana finally sighed with resignation.

"What happened wasn't necessarily... _bad._ "

Croix smiled at the girl to prompt her to go on.

Suddenly, the young Cavendish broke eye contact with her and began speaking with a small voice. "I-It... was just very _unbecoming_ of me... uh, what I did."

"Try me, Diana."

The blonde witch began to recall what occurred during her first class.

Now, any responsible and respectable Professor would have listened to the girl's story with empathy, and suggest some advice to cope with the embarrassment of it all.

Croix was no such Professor.

So when Diana mentioned that she _threw_ her wand across the room at a fellow classmate, well...

Croix laughed. Like _really hard_.

* * *

Amanda O'Neill laughed. Like _really hard_.

Sucy didn't blame her though; especially after the unorthodox stunt that Diana pulled during their Magic Astronomy Class.

The Filipino witch expected many things from the Cavendish girl; a spell to literally zip up Sucy's own lips from talking any further; the telekinesis of a textbook being aimed at her general direction as a warning... _however,_ she certainly wasn't expecting, well...

The girl lobbing her _damn wand_ right at her face.

Sucy would have been utterly entertained over the whole ordeal if it weren't for the fact that Diana was _really close_ to stabbing her eye out. Regardless, she still joined the boisterous American witch in laughter. When she thought about it, Diana's reaction was actually really _fucking funny_.

 _Oh it was totally worth it._

"Ahahaha! My GOD that was _perfect_!" Amanda exclaimed in-between fits of laughter, "that just made my entire _year!_ "

Even Hannah, one of Diana's lackeys, was failing to stifle her giggles at the thought of Diana's actions. "S-Shut up, Amanda!" the Auburn-haired witch blurted out between giggles, "Stop being so _c_ _rass_ about Diana's behaviour!"

"She _threw_ her fucking _wand_ at Sucy!"

" _Man..._ that came out of _nowhere_ , though!" a certain brunette suddenly exclaimed. Sucy regarded the girl with a blank stare, and noted with utter amusement that Akko had a genuine expression of puzzlement plastered on her face. "I mean, _why_ would she even do that?! All Sucy did was vaguely describe what my potential 'lover' would look like!"

At that moment, Sucy could feel that _everybody_ suppressed the urge to let out a collective sigh.

 _I almost feel bad for Diana... Akko's as oblivious as they come._

"Ooooh, since we're on the topic of _romance_ , is anybody excited for the Valentine's Day Ball that we're having with Appleton Academy?" Barbara abruptly mentioned; deterring the topic from Akko's, almost _painful_ , obliviousness.

"Gross! Who would be excited about _that_?" Amanda droned, "I went there for like a _day_ , and majority of the guys at that school are so _snobby._ It's a total turnoff." At the mention of the Appleton Boys attitudes, Akko gave everyone an affirmative nod.

"If there's free food then I'm definitely excited!" Jasminka chimed in. Their silent, German roommate merely shrugged in indifference at the topic.

Suddenly, Diana's darker-haired lackey began leaning in on the table; towards Sucy's more quieter friend. "Aren't _you_ excited to see _Fraank_?" Barbara lightly teased.

At the mention of the blonde boys name, the Filipino witch felt a rather ugly emotion tug at her mood. However, she internally stuffed her own feelings down and nonchalantly looked at her friend to see her reaction. When she saw the expression of melancholy on Lotte's face, Sucy began feeling a different kind of emotion that she was unfamiliar with. Something gnawed at her chest when she saw the sadness on the smaller girl's face, and she concluded that she didn't like it at all.

Everyone else simply gave Barbara a look that said ' _dude!? SAY something_!"

Barbara seemed to catch onto the memo and immediately began backtracking on her words, "Ah-! I-I'm so sorry if things didn't work ou-!"

"It's no big deal, Barbara. I wasn't expecting anything to happen with him, anyways..." the small girl interrupted.

Sucy frowned at that, and before she could process her own words, she already had said them out loud. "Well... why not?"

Lotte gave her a sad smile. "I'm forgettable..."

The mushroom-loving witch heard both Barbara and Hannah gulp at that statement. In the past, they made some rather _rude_ remarks about the Finnish witch behind her back; all of which they apologized for, of course. But Sucy _knew_ that they still felt guilty about the whole ordeal.

Sucy, on the other hand, felt her own anger flare. Her anger wasn't directed at Barbara and Hannah, but at Lotte's perception of herself... and maybe Frank.

Yeah, no. Definitely Frank.

"You're _not_ forgettable." Sucy stated as she levelled her gaze with Lotte. The Finnish girl opened her mouth to make a rebuttal, but Sucy beat her to it. The Filipino witch simply gave her roommate a gentle smile, and continued on. "You're a wallflower."

"W-What-?"

"What I mean is: sure... you've got a quiet and reserved nature; and that may cause people to overlook you... but once they take the time to _actually see_ you, they'll appreciate you for what you're worth." Sucy could feel her own cheeks grow slightly hot at her own words, but she nevertheless pressed on. "Lotte, you're a great girl. And if Frank doesn't have the patience to see that, then he isn't worth your time. _I- er,_ _We_ see you, Lotte."

Sucy's rather intimate pep talk was followed by utter silence. She began to internally fidget when _nobody_ was saying anything. Everyone just kind of stared at her like she grew three heads, and she soon began to regret that she said all of that out loud. In front of _everybody_. But she couldn't help it, though! Lotte just looked like a kicked puppy, and the Filipino witch didn't like the expression on the other girl's face at all.

Finally, Lotte decided to pipe up, and she beamed Sucy a smile. "Thank you, Sucy."

"D-Don't mention it."

 _Please, don't mention it._

"Well... if you're done _flirting_..." Amanda interjected. "What _are_ everybody's plans for the dance?"

Sucy actively prevented herself from shoving an internal organ-degrading poison down the American witch's throat. Instead, she just decided to answer the blasted girl's question. She wasn't going to give Amanda the satisfaction of seeing her act _flustered_. "I'm probably going with _you guys."_ Sucy droned. "I know that nobody here has an actual _date_ to it anyways."

Despite the mild insult that she gave everybody, all her friends simply shrugged in acceptance.

"Yay! A group date!" Akko exclaimed as she pumped a fist in the air. "Ah- someone should tell Diana what we're planning!"

Sucy smiled slyly at that, "Why don't _you_ tell her, Akko?"

Akko tilted her head at the thought, but then shrugged, "Sure! I wanted to stretch out my legs anyways; might as well go on a walk!" the hyperactive girl then began to walk away.

"Akko, wait!"

"What-GWAH!" Sucy threw Diana's wand at the brown-haired girl. The said brown-haired girl scrambled about to try and catch the thing, and eventually secured it near her chest. She gave the Filipino witch a baleful look. "Y-You could've poked my freaking eye out, Sucy!"

"Tell that to Diana when you give it back to her for me, will you?"

Akko huffed at the girl, but nevertheless nodded at her request before turning around to find the blonde prodigy. When Akko was finally out of their line of vision, everybody simultaneously slumped.

"Man, I love Akko and all but she's so... _stupid_." Amanda remarked. Sucy and the others knew that her words didn't have any ill intent within them; especially considering the context in which she was stating them in. So no one actually jumped in to disagree with the American girl.

"Diana's got her work cut out for her." Jasminka stated with both pity and amusement.

Sucy snorted, "Well, Diana isn't that much better than Akko. The girl probably doesn't _even know_ what she's feeling for that idiot _herself_."

Everyone hmm'd in understanding at Sucy's words; even Diana's roommates.

For the past year or so, _both_ Diana and Akko have been growing increasingly closer to each other. At first, everybody saw it as their mere friendship blossoming into something _platonic_ and sweet. However, as the months went on, everyone began to notice the rather intimate changes that were occurring between the two girls. Diana's eyes would linger a little longer than it should have on the other girl's frame. Then there was Akko's incessant blabber about the blonde girl's beauty in the Red Team's dorm. And lets not forget how they _both_ would do morning patrols _everyday_. Despite the fact that those were only needed for about three times a week.

Even if the two girls weren't even aware of it... it was pretty clear to everybody else in their friend group.

They were absolutely smitten.

And it was getting _annoying_.

Well... at least that was the case for Sucy. They just kept on prancing around their feelings for each other and it was rather frustrating to observe. This wasn't a freaking _fan fiction_ for God's sake! So... like the good friend she was, the Filipino witch decided to push them in the right direction.

Hence the whole debacle during Professor Chariot's class.

"The dance might be a good opportunity for them." Barbara mused.

"Even if they _don't_ do anything themselves, Sucy or Amanda might cause something to happen..." Hannah also remarked.

Sucy smiled devilishly at the Auburn-haired witch's suggestion.

"Well... you're not wrong."

 _Oh I definitely have a couple of things hiding up my sleeve for them..._

"Uwah... she's got her plotting face on!" Amanda exclaimed, "how creepy~"

Before Sucy could make a remark of her own towards the American witch, Lotte decided to chime in.

"Her plotting face isn't creepy... It's cute!"

... _oh jeez._

Sucy blushed.

* * *

Diana blushed.

And it certainly didn't have _anything_ to do with what this _demon_ of a Professor was suggesting.

No. Not at all.

She _thought_ that if she confided in the purple-haired woman, then she'd feel a little better about the whole situation. Obviously, she had thought wrong because the older woman was _still_ revelling in the fact that Diana had made an utter fool of herself. And the fact that she was even suggesting that Diana held feelings that were more than _platonic_ towards a certain brunette was preposterous!

 _The nerve of this woman!_

"I'm still not over the fact that you _threw_ your wand at your _friend_ -"

"That's still debatable." Diana interrupted. Croix playfully rolled her eyes and continued on, "-your _classmate_ , just so she wouldn't reveal your little _cru-_ "

Diana felt her face grow hot, and she huffed. "Croix, I swear if you finish that sentence..."

Croix raised her arms up in defence and just let her words hang in the air. However, before Diana could continue on to reprimand the rather childish woman...

The brown-haired girl of topic slammed her way into the classroom.

"A-Akko?!"

Akko simply beamed at her, "Ah! _There_ you are! Professor Chariot was right in telling me that you'd be with Professor Croix!"

Suddenly, the brown-haired girl treaded her way towards Diana, and the blonde could feel her face heat up once more at the proximity in which Akko was growing accustomed to situating herself with the blonde. Instead of giving Croix the satisfaction of seeing her flustered (well... even more so than she was right now), she steeled herself into levelling her gaze with the hyperactive girl in front of her.

"Why are you-?"

"You're going to the Valentine's Day Dance with me!"

Diana's heart leapt up into her throat, and if it were possible, her face reddened even _more_. She began to sputter an incoherent response to the brown-haired witch, but she couldn't string together a decipherable sentence to save a life at the moment. She was too shocked at the other girl's forwardness.

 _I-Isn't this something that a person generally ASKS rather than STATES?!_

 _"Well..._ technically you're going with everybody else too; it's a group date!"

Diana let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding in. She internally sighed. The Cavendish girl was too emotionally drained to even shoot Croix a glare from laughing at their interaction. She simply stared back at the hyperactive girl before her with an expression of pure exhaustion, and wondered what she might have done in a past life to deserve all this... _strife_.

 _She's going to be my downfall... this girl._

"Oi... Diana? Are you sure you don't have a fever?"

Diana nearly fainted when Akko pressed her forehead against her own _again._

 _Scratch that... she's going to be the death of me_.

* * *

 **Weeelp, that was a chapter!**

 **Brace yourselves for some impending Chariox in the next chapter!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Heeere you go, friends!**

* * *

Croix wondered in the back of her mind why she was being punished so _severely_ for her past actions. Sure, she may have caused an international crisis with her missile that was fuelled by literal _hate_... but _come ON!_ Did she have to chaperone a stupid _dance_?! The last thing she wanted to do was watch after a bunch of hormonal teenagers at a random function that she had no business of attending. How the faculty thought this was a good idea was beyond Croix; she was pretty sure that the students at Luna Nova were still very distrustful of her even being there.

"...as such, we've decided that both you and Chariot will be the chaperone's for the Valentines Day Ball this upcoming weekend."

 _Greaaaat_...

To make matters more complicated, Holbrooke and the others all but lumped the redheaded witch in with her to complete this tedious task. This, in turn, made the lilac-haired witch feel a little uneasy. It wasn't that Croix _didn't_ want to be around Chariot. No, not at all. If anything, she _wanted_ to speak with Chariot and catch up. However, she couldn't say the same for the redheaded woman; she made it _very clear_ on the day that they 'reunited' that she was rather _angry_ with her.

Well...there was also the underlying, crushing guilt that it was basically Croix's fault that Chariot couldn't fly any longer.

But Croix tried not to get wrapped up in that fact.

"Yes, Headmistress Holbrooke." Chariot politely accepted. Croix, on the other hand, begrudgingly nodded at the small woman's orders. Holbrooke simply smiled at the two Professors with mild entertainment and dismissed them from her office. If Croix didn't know any better, she'd believe that the bloody woman was doing all of this on purpose.

However, before she could continue to dwell on the thought, Chariot suddenly piped up.

"I noticed that you didn't have any students in your class today..."

 _Out of all the things she could talk abou-!?_

Croix inwardly shook her head and reminded herself that the woman before her probably stated those words without ill intent. Chariot was _trying_ to talk to her. So she awkwardly laughed at that. "I'm not surprised that nobody's signed up for my classes, though." Croix began, "I mean, after causing some international panic with a missile that was _made_ with Magitronics, I'm pretty sure the students here would _not_ be lining up to listen to my _Magitronics_ lessons."

Chariot huffed softly at Croix's words, and offered her an encouraging smile. "You'll win them over, somehow."

"I doubt it."

"Oh C'mon, Croix!" the redheaded witch suddenly exclaimed as she leaned in towards the taller woman. "they're _teenaged girls_ ; trust me... it doesn't take much to please them. You'll figure something out!" Croix couldn't help but smile at her old friend's encouraging words. Just leave it to Chariot to be optimistic about a rather dreary situation. Before she could register what she was doing, Croix already had her hand on top of the other woman's head; patting her with affection.

"Heh, thanks Char... _iot!_ "

Suddenly, she whipped her hand off the other woman's head like she touched a hot stove, and she began to awkwardly scratch the back of her head. When she regained eye contact with the redhead in front of her, she saw that the woman's cheeks were slightly puffed out and her brows were upturned ever so slightly. Croix's eyes widened in realization when she recognized the look on Chariot's face, and she almost laughed.

 _She's... pouting._

Croix fought the urge to pinch one of Chariot's cheeks.

"Heeey! Professor Chariot!"

"Akko! What did I say about yelling in the halls!?"

Croix turned her head towards the sound of those two _very familiar_ voices, and actually cracked a smile at the scene she was met with. At the far end of the hallway, Diana was reprimanding Akko for being so loud in the halls once again. In response, Akko simply apologized to the blonde prodigy with a goofy smile. It would seem that Diana's will had faltered against the other girl's megawatt smile, because she soon resigned to crossing her arms and shaking her head.

"That girl is a lot like you, y'know..." Chariot nonchalantly pointed out.

"Oh I _know_..." Croix agreed with a small smile, "although, I don't ever recall being _a total stick in the mud_." At the last part of her statement, she could see that Chariot was giving her an amused, but knowing sidelong glance. The redheaded witch giggled. "Diana actually _told_ you about that?"

"Yes, and it made my entire day."

Chariot playfully shoved the lilac-haired woman. "Croix! Did you at least console the poor girl?"

She glanced at Chariot and smirked. "Does laughter and sarcasm count as appropriate consolation measures?"

In response to her remark, Chariot simply let out a mildly entertained scoff. However, before she could quip back at Croix, the two girls that they were talking about had materialized right in front of them. Diana regarded them with a polite nod, whereas Akko beamed them both a friendly smile. Croix's gaze softened, and a ghost of a smile made it's way onto her face too. Seeing them together like that hit the lilac-haired witch with a huge wave of nostalgia. The dynamic emanating from these two was very reminiscent to the energy that Croix and Chariot had back in their earlier years.

Much like Croix, Diana was an ambitious prodigy who had an intense passion for magic.

Much like Chariot, Akko was an energetic knucklehead who just wanted to make people smile with her own magic.

However... the lilac-haired witch also knew that both of the girls were vastly _different_ from them in many regards too. They made up for what Chariot and Croix lacked.

Unlike Diana, Croix let her passion transform into an egocentric, dark obsession.

Unlike Akko, Chariot let go of her drive to make people smile with her magic altogether when things got hard.

It was strange, really; seeing the girls in front of her like this. It was like looking at what could've been between the older women themselves. If only they had just... _talked_ things out, then maybe things didn't have to be so jumbled and messed up. Croix's gaze slowly found its way back to the redheaded woman to her left, and a wave of determination had taken over.

 _I swear I'll make it all up to you..._

Chariot caught onto Croix's gaze and gave her a questioning stare.

Croix simply offered her a knowing smile and winked in return.

"Professor Charioot! Are we still on for our extra lessons?" Akko suddenly exclaimed, jolting the two women back to reality. Chariot simply turned towards her mentee, and patted the young girl's head. "Yes, Akko. We are still on for our extra lessons. This faculty meeting just ran a little late."

"Oh Okay, awesome! I just _reaally_ want to learn some cool fireworks magic before your bir-YOUCH!"

Croix quirked a brow when she caught Diana discreetly pinching the back of Akko's thigh. The hyperactive brunette initially gave the prodigy a baleful look, but then the expression was replaced with one of realization. When it seemed like the girl remembered whatever it was she almost blabbed about, she simply gave Diana an apologetic half-smile.

Diana coughed into her hand, "Akko merely wanted to advance her magical performance skills for her future shows...right, _Akko_?"

"Aheheh...R-Right..." Akko more or less so confirmed as she tried not to make eye contact with the blonde next to her.

The lilac-haired woman tilted her head at their actions, but then she too remembered what was coming up in a couple of weeks. Her eyes twinkled in entertainment when she connected the dots from Akko's statement, and she decided not to comment on it.

 _Their planning to surprise Chariot with a show for her birthday_.

"It's good to see that you're willing to advance your skills, Akko!" Chariot exclaimed, totally oblivious to the students plans, "but remember to _pace yourself_. A healthy mind and body are also pivotal to the development of magical skills..."

"I know, I know!"

Chariot playfully rolled her eyes at the young girl. "You say that, but Sucy and Lotte told me about how you almost caught a cold trying to study for your midterms! You fell asleep at your desk without a blanket!"

Although the redhead was admonishing Akko, Croix knew that it came from the heart. The woman was merely worried for the impulsive kid. Man, she almost felt a little bad for Akko - it seemed like she was constantly getting lectured by everybody... just like a certain _redhead_ that she knew.

Croix smirked, "At least she didn't actually _catch_ a cold by sleeping at her desk like a certain _somebody_ I know..."

Chariot immediately turned to face the lilac-haired witch, and reddened in embarrassment, "C-Croi-!"

"Oh, you should've seen her when she showed up for our exams. Her nose was all snotty and gross; _and_ she was so sick that she almost threw up in Professor Pisces fishb-OUCH!"

Croix reached up to rub her nose. The very nose that Chariot had flicked rather _hard_. Her gaze then found its way back to Chariot, and she could physically feel the icicles forming on her shoulders from the _cold glare_ that the woman was sending her. Croix inwardly slumped; oh if she thought she was in the doghouse _before_...

She grabbed at her own collar, and broke eye contact with the fuming woman. "Uh-"

"Well!" Chariot haughtily interrupted, "Akko and I will be on our way to our extra lessons, Professor _Meridies._ I will see you tomorrow morning."

 _Oh shit._

And with that, the redheaded witch _dragged_ the poor brunette away. However, before they completely left her line of vision, Croix called out to Chariot once again. "W-Wait! How do I win the students over?!"

"I don't know, Croix! Do what you do best and _research_ about it or something!"

Although the other woman probably didn't mean for Croix to take her seriously, the lilac-haired witch actually considered that notion. The gears in her mind began shifting, and a small smile broke out onto her face. She promptly turned to face Diana, who was giving Croix a mildly amused expression herself. The expression then turned into one of weariness when she saw the, almost manic, smile on Croix's face.

"You up for a study session in the library? Well.. not like you have a choice, you _have to_ escort me... but still. I want to do some research."

Diana sighed, "If it's for research, then I suppose I could join you and get some studying done myself."

Croix beamed at the kid, "Great!"

They both then made their way to Luna Nova's library; with Croix taking each step forward with a sense of newfound hope.

She was _going_ to win these damn students over!

* * *

Diana silently concluded that Croix was _not_ going to win the students over.

The notion was mostly attributed to the fact that the woman believed 'researching' into _teenaged_ magazines would accurately show her what said 'teenagers' wanted. Good grief! when Croix said she was going to do some research, the young prodigy _thought_ she was doing it for the Wagandea Curse! So when Croix all but slammed a bunch of _magazines_ onto their table, Diana had to actively prevent herself from flipping said table in pure frustration.

"I see... so girls nowadays are super boy-crazy and into those makeup fads..."

Diana's brow twitched. But she decided to not make a remark, and continued to study the tome in front of her. She was reading about the history of the notorious witch, Baba Yaga; and it was rather dry material. However, her history class had a report due at the end of the month, and she wanted to get it done early so she could attend to the assignments given to her from her other classes.

"Man, what's with these weird quizzes? I'd say I'm more of a 'cool type' of girl than a 'bookish type'!"

 _Twitch Twitch..._

Diana willed herself to ignore the bloody woman in front of her.

"Whoa! Are kids nowadays actually having _this much_ se-"

 _SLAM!_

Diana loudly slammed her book shut to stop the woman from finishing that ridiculous sentence. This was preposterous! the young girl thought. Croix _freaking Meridies_ , one of the brightest students to _ever_ attend Luna Nova's halls, was currently looking at _teen magazines_ in a pathetic attempt to understand the general juvenile girl's mind! The Cavendish girl was beyond baffled at this point. She didn't even know why she was still _there;_ she could've gone back to her dorm to do her history report in uninterrupted _peace_ for God's sake. However, some otherworldly force apparently had other plans for her because she was the _sole person_ responsible for escorting the bloody woman to wherever she needed to go!

This was the one and only time Diana actually _wished_ she didn't come from a family that held so much responsibility.

God, she felt bad thinking it but it was _so true_. And the fact that Croix knew just _how_ to push her buttons didn't help, either.

Croix quirked a brow at the young girl, and smirked. "What's wrong with you? Are you still thinking about what happened in your morning class?"

At that moment, Diana actually considered _stabbing_ the older woman with her wand. Apparently, as of late, the young Cavendish was discovering a number of alternative ways to use the thing. They were rather primitive alternatives, of course; but with the way that _everybody_ seemed bent on testing her patience, she believed that her recent use of her wand was rather appropriate.

 _When I threw my wand at Sucy, it seemed to shut her up..._

She looked back at the purple-haired woman with a contemplative expression. Croix, who probably sensed the impending threat emanating from the young Cavendish, visibly shrank from the girl in front of her.

"Whoa... I don't know if I like that look on your face right now..."

Diana huffed, and crossed her arms; with the look of contemplation being replaced with a frown.

 _What am I thinking?! I'm a CAVENDISH for goodness sake! I can't keep giving in to these impulsive desires to potentially maim the people around me_...

"I need to pull myself together..." the young girl muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

Diana directed her gaze back at the blasted woman. "It was nothing." she answered curtly, "however, I would like to make a suggestion for your current ' _research'_ "

The older woman simply gave her a genuinely inquiring look from across the table. Diana sighed. "You might want to read the magazines directed to those who are seventeen years old and up-"

"But most of the students in your year are sixtee-"

"And they all desire to be seen as _refined_ adults; hence why most girls my age read those ridiculous things." Diana interrupted. "Please take it from me; I've been around the girls in my year long enough to know that they're interested in such things like love and boyfriends and the like; _however_ , the whole notion about girls wanting to have a lot of s-sex isn't accurate. So please refrain from including that into your 'plan' to win the students over." Diana cursed her cheeks for growing hot at that last part of her statement.

She then chanced a glance at Croix, and saw that the woman was giving her a genuine smile. "I'll keep that in mind, Diana." but soon, the woman's brows furrowed in confusion when she started sorting through the pile of magazines once more. "Uh... what magazines am I even trying to find?"

Before the young Cavendish knew it, she had already stood up to walk over to the _damn woman_ ' _s_ side of the table. She quickly scanned the plethora of magazines haphazardly stacked in front of the Professor, and handpicked a select few that she was familiar with. The said woman began questioning her about any other potential trends that might be popular with the girls at their school; and surprisingly, Diana gave her genuine answers. This process had repeated for quite a bit, with the older woman earnestly taking notes every so often.

When Diana finally took a peek at the clock suspended at the far side of the library... she actually almost screamed.

How Croix managed to get Diana to help her with this ridiculous plight for _three hours_ was beyond her.

"Great!" Croix suddenly exclaimed. "I think we got it: the perfect plan to win the students over!"

"Splendid." Diana droned.

"We gotta set up our materials before class begins tomorrow morning so-!"

Diana exhaled sharply and gave the woman an incredulous expression. " _We_...?!"

Croix tilted her head, "Yes, 'we.'" she confirmed, "you helped me develop this plan, it's only natural that you take part in it too. And you have to escort me to my lecture anyways... so you might as well tag along with me."

At that point... Diana was too _tired_ to try and go against the bloody woman's logic.

She sighed.

"Okay."

* * *

Akko wondered in the back of her mind if Diana was okay.

This sudden concern was mostly initiated from the fact that the blonde was currently in front of Croix's lecture hall, _advertising_ some pretty embarrassing reasons for the students to take the woman's class. Like... they had a pie-chart and a bunch of graphs displayed which correlated the relationship between the practical use of Magitronics and obtaining a 'lover'.

"Good _God_ , Croix. When I said do research on how to win the students over, I didn't think you'd take me this seriously..." the young brunette heard her mentor mutter under her breath. The redheaded woman simply looked on at the weird display with exasperated warmth. Akko, on the other hand, was openly gawking at the situation. How Croix actually managed to get _Diana_ , of all people, to help her out with all of this was... well, _something_.

"Greetings, fellow students!" Diana belted out, causing some of the hallway dwellers to stop in their tracks. "we would like to interest you in the wonders of Professor Croix's Magitronics class. If you see right _here_." Akko watched as the girl pointed at one of their graphs, "you can see a very _positive_ correlation between the use of Magitronics and finding a b-boyfriend-!"

"Or Girlfriend, if that's what you're into!" Croix added.

Akko grinned when she saw the expression of unadulterated frustration make its way onto Diana's face. And it wasn't like the expressions that the brunette would usually see on the blonde. It was more childish; like Diana was trying _really hard_ not to openly whine at the purple-haired woman. The blonde's cheeks were puffed out ever so slightly, and her lips were upturned the smallest of frowns.

She then watched as the blonde began _arguing_ with the older woman. Akko only caught bits and pieces of their banter; something about an agreement on how they were going to go on about their 'perfect plan.' She actually had to stifle a giggle when she heard Croix tell Diana that she was only 'eye candy' for the other students to look at while _she_ finessed them into taking her class.

Diana did not take that very well.

"Oh jeez... they're both so hopeless..." Chariot stated rather fondly.

Akko simply continued to look onto the two prodigies, and she felt her heart grow warm at the thought of Diana finally acting... well, like a kid.

 _So even Diana can make cute expressions like that..._

Her eyes then widened in panic.

"O-Oi! W-Wait, Diana! Don't _stab_ Professor Croix with your wand!"

* * *

 **Welp... the Chariox fluff will probs be stronger in the next couple of chapters (hint: the Ball xD); not gonna deny that it was a little lacking in this one.**

 **Hope y'all will continue to enjoy it!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**THIS STORY ISN'T DEAD DON'T WORRY!**

* * *

Diana fought the _very strong_ urge to use an explosion spell on both Sucy and Amanda.

Unfortunately, she couldn't actually execute the feat because Akko made the executive decision to confiscate her wand for the time being. Apparently, her recent use of the magical tool wasn't as appropriate as she thought. When the blonde demanded a rationale for Akko's decision, the brunette went on an animated spiel about ' _protecting the general public from Diana's wand-related endangerment_ '... whatever _that_ meant...

Diana huffed.

 _I'm not threatening the general public... just Croix._

She then heard Sucy and Amanda snicker once again, which caused her eye to involuntarily twitch.

 _...And maybe those two bloody idiots._

At the moment, they were residing in a vacant lecture hall. It was currently all of the girls free periods, and during this time they would usually find a quiet place to lounge around or do work. It would seem that today they were going to be doing the former, as both Sucy and Amanda had taken upon themselves to _relentlessly_ tease the young Cavendish about what happened in the morning.

"Gahahaha! I can't believe Professor Croix actually _roped you_ into doing all of that!" Amanda obnoxiously exclaimed while she repeatedly slammed her hands on the lecture desk.

"Oh how the mighty have _fallen_ ," Sucy droned with a smirk, "in _looov_ -ARAY!"

Diana discreetly offered Lotte a thankful smile when she saw the Finnish girl kick Sucy from under the table. Lotte simply smiled back and offered an apologetic expression on her blasted mushroom-loving friend's behalf. Although the said mushroom-loving friend was slightly miffed at the sudden attack, she still wore an unapologetic smirk.

Shortly after, their group _finally_ entered a calm, silent lull.

Diana actually thought she might be able to catch up on some homework.

...but then a certain _brunette_ decided to pipe up...

"I'm going to take Professor Croix's class!"

The Prodigy almost gaped at the girl sitting right next to her. Everyone else, on the other hand, openly displayed their astonishment towards Akko's sudden proclamation by gawking at her. Well... with the exception of Sucy, who was smiling wickedly at the hyperactive girl in utter amusement.

"W-What?!" Diana suddenly blurted out, "Do you really want to find a b-boyfriend by taking that bloody woman's Magitronics class!?"

"Or _girlfriend_ , if that's what you're into" Sucy interjected cheekily.

The blonde heiress suppressed the urge to growl at the girl, as she knew that the mushroom-enthusiast was just parroting what Croix had said earlier on in the day. She briefly gave Sucy a pointed glare before focusing back on Akko.

The hyperactive girl reddened at the question and began to wave her arms in defence, "N-No! Jeez, Diana. I'm just super interested in Magitronics!"

Diana quirked a brow at that, "What is so interesting about Magitronics?"

The blonde prodigy was never keen on the subject. She always preferred more traditional forms of magic, so Croix's class had never genuinely piqued her interest. But it wasn't everyday that _Akko_ openly displayed an interest in her magical studies, so maybe Diana was missing out on something with regards to the subject of Magitronics.

"It's just so cool, and new!" Akko gushed, with that damn sparkle in her eyes. Diana inwardly sighed when she saw that all too familiar gleam in the brunette's gaze. The presence of that gleam usually meant that Akko was genuinely interested in whatever she was talking about. And whenever Akko got like this, well...

Diana couldn't help but smile warmly at the girl's enthusiasm.

"A-And I remember seeing those little magic cube-thingy's that Croix created during Chariot's show when I was a kid! Y'know, to make the giant beasts that she would sometimes battle!" Akko continued on in excitement. "I think that Croix and Chariot worked together back then! And if there's anyway that Magitronics were used in Chariot's shows, then maybe I could also incorporate it into my future performances, too!"

After hearing that surprisingly thought out answer, the blonde prodigy smirked at the girl next to her. "I'm impressed, Akko. You seriously thought about how you would apply Croix's lessons towards your future... and here I thought you were going to say something about how Magitronics made your heart skip a beat."

Akko furrowed her brows at that, "It's like you're complimenting me, but then you're not..."

"Mostly complimenting." Diana affirmed with an amused smile. Her smile widened when she saw that Akko visibly puffed up in satisfaction at her remark.

"Mostly flirting..." Amanda muttered under her breath.

Thankfully, it didn't seem like Akko heard the damn American witch's unnecessary comment. Diana, on the other hand, heard it loud and clear. In turn, this resulted in the blonde discreetly _glaring_ at Amanda for the umpteenth time that day. Amanda simply smirked unapologetically, much like a certain _Filipino witch_ , back at her.

"Wait... doesn't Croix usually teach during our free period?" Jasminka suddenly mused.

A wave of relief overcame Diana when the Russian witch mentioned that fact. The blonde knew how much Akko enjoyed spending her free period with her friends, so the notion of Akko actually taking Croix's class was probably-

"That's fine with me!"

 _What_.

"I mean, we can still see each other during lunch. And I might as well use this time to do something _productive_." Akko continued on.

 _Oh so NOW she decides to take her academics seriously..._

Diana would've been a little bit more happy about that thought... well, if it weren't for the fact that it was _Croix's_ class that Akko was interested in.

Before she could get lost in those unnecessary thoughts, the blonde prodigy silently admonished herself. She was being _childish_ about the whole ordeal! If it was Akko's desire to learn about Magitronics, then so be it.

But then again...

It was _Croix_ that she was talking about here.

Yeah... she didn't trust the blasted woman alone with Akko at all.

"I'll take the class with you."

Akko whipped her head around to face the blonde, and Diana could _swear_ that she could see the sparkle in her eyes had increased tenfold. "R-Really!?"

"Yes, really...?" her reply came out more as a question than an answer for some odd reason.

" _Yay~_!" the brunette exclaimed. Diana then yelped when Akko grabbed her by the arm, "Lets go and enrol in her class right now! She's still in her lecture room, right?!"

Diana struggled against the shorter girl's grasp, but nevertheless answered her question. "I-I, er Yes, I believe so but-!"

"Then lets go!"

"Ah-! Akko, w-wait!" and with that, Diana was effectively _whisked away_ by the hyperactive brunette.

While the prodigy was essentially being dragged away, Akko adjusted her position so that she wouldn't be clinging on to Diana's side. Instead, she slid her hand down to Diana's own hand too. The blonde contently obliged to the girl's actions, and she interlocked their fingers together with a small smile. She briefly directed her gaze towards the girl she was holding hands with, and could feel her face grow hot at the unadulterated _joy_ that Akko was emanating towards her at the moment.

 _This... is nice._

Maybe spending another class with Akko wasn't such a bad idea after all.

* * *

Advertising her class was definitely a good idea.

Croix couldn't help but smirk triumphantly towards a certain _brooding_ _blonde_ as Akko beamed up at her, spouting some excited chatter about learning Magitronics. Albeit, the lilac-haired witch would've been even more so entertained if the brunette actually came for the class in hopes to gain a _lover_.

But Croix had plenty of time to meddle with that throughout the semester.

Her smirk widened into a genuine smile when she heard Akko say something about Diana enrolling into her class too.

"Oh?" Croix mused, "is that so?"

"Yeah! We're going to be taking your class during our free period... er, well... I guess it isn't our free period anymore, but I'm sure that we'll have a lot of fun in your class, Professor Croix!"

"Hell yeah, we will!"

Croix furrowed her brows in both confusion and curiosity at the new but vaguely familiar voice. When she turned her head to face the kid who the voice belonged to, the lilac-haired witch was greeted by the presence of the rest of Akko's 'gang' crowding her lecture room door. Croix recognized that the girl who had spoken was the American witch... Amanda, if she recalled correctly. Behind the girl were her two roommates; one of which was the tiny, German engineer and the other being the food-loving Russian.

"If Akko's going to take this course, then Sucy and I are defaulted into taking it too..." Akko's quiet, ginger roommate chimed in.

"Speak for yourself, Lotte," the girl who was supposedly Sucy added with a smirk. "I'm here because I wanna see something _interesting_ happen..."

Croix had a feeling that Sucy wasn't referring to her Magitronics class when she said she wanted to 'see something _interesting._ ' She also didn't fail to hear the faint growl that the blonde prodigy elicited upon hearing the Filipino witch's statement. A wicked smirk slowly made it's way onto Croix's face.

 _I feel like I'm going to get along with Sucy just fine..._

 _"_ Well we're going to be learning about _Magitronics!_ " Akko exclaimed with a painful amount of obliviousness, "Of _course_ we're going to see a bunch of interesting things!"

Croix fought the urge to huff in exasperation, and simply smiled down endearingly at the comically oblivious brunette.

 _My God she's worse than Chariot..._

Sucy, however, actually huffed in exasperation on behalf of the rest of the people who weren't Akko Kagari. Croix observed this little gesture with entertainment swimming in her eyes. She then briefly flitted her gaze across the other members of their group, and noted with amusement how they _all_ seemed to be pitying the poor blonde's situation with Akko. Not that the Cavendish even knew that she was in a 'situation' herself... she was just as bad as the brunette in that regard.

The said Cavendish then cleared her throat to get everybody's attention.

"A-Ahem! Anyways... Professor Croix."

Croix straightened up from being addressed so suddenly. She then quirked a brow at the young blonde, "Erm... yes, Diana?"

"So what are some of the _interesting things_ that you're going to be teaching us?"

The lavender-haired witch stared blankly at the Cavendish girl.

 _That... is a very good question._

One of which she did not have an acceptable answer to. Croix then tried to control her facial expression so she _wouldn't_ convey that she indeed did _not_ have a planned syllabus ready for her 'class.'

 _God dammit! I honestly didn't think I'd get this far..._

However, Croix knew that she couldn't pull the wool over Diana's eyes. The kid was too sharp for that. So when the blonde prodigy gave her a knowing, and utterly unimpressed look, Croix could already hear the impending storm of lecturing that the child was about to unleash.

In the back of her mind, the professor wondered if her younger self was _this_ diligent. Sure, much like Diana the purple-haired woman used to be Luna Nova's revered prodigal witch, _and_ she also had most of the responsibilities that the young Cavendish had bestowed upon her... but _oh my GOD_ Diana was too freaking uptight!

Croix briefly reflected on her thoughts. Rather than diligent, Croix was moreso arrogant back in her days at Luna Nova.

 _Huh... I guess we do have our differences after all._

Suddenly, a genius idea popped up into the lavender-haired witch's mind.

Before Diana could even start on her hurricane of 'reprimanding,' Croix had already begun to verbally present the girls with her _genius_ idea.

"That, Miss. Cavendish, will be up to you ladies."

The blonde simply stared at Croix with an arched brow.

"So what you're saying is..." Amanda piped up, with an entertained smirk, " _we_ get to decide the syllabus for your class?"

"Precisely."

Diana scoffed at the obviously hastily-made idea, "How _convenient_ for you."

"Rather than seeing as my decision as _convenient,_ I would say that I'm challenging you girls to be creative!" Croix smiled innocently, "Magitronics is all about finding alternative solutions to different problems, exploring the unknown, and being innovative! Through letting you pick what you want to learn about with regards to this subject, I'm facilitating your exploration and _interest_ of Magitronics by sifting out the things that may hinder that very interest!"

 _That... sounds about right...?_

To be honest, Croix was pulling explanations out of her _ass_ right now.

Despite the lavender-haired witch's inner doubts of whether her little speech got through to the girls or not, Diana actually humoured her.

"So how do we decide what we learn for each lecture?"

Croix pondered that for a moment, but then easily found a solution. "Easy. Each person gets to decide what we get to learn each week. The sequence of when a person decides the topics of a week can be decided now, if you would like."

She then looked around the room to see if anyone protested to that idea. Judging by the neutral, and even borderline _bored_ expressions on the girls faces (with the exception of Akko, who just seemed to genuinely excited at the prospect of learning about Magitronics), Croix would say that no one was against it.

"Alright so who wants to be-"

"I'll do the first week."

Everyone, including the lavender-haired witch herself, gawked at the Filipino witch that offered to go first. She didn't really peg the girl to be the go-getter type; what with Sucy's laid back and downright _lethargic_ demeanour. But when she caught a glimpse of the girl's slowly forming, _wicked_ smirk, Croix _knew_ that the kid had something brewing for Luna Nova's favoured prodigy.

"Sounds good to me." Croix stated as she mirrored Sucy's smirk.

 _Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!_

The school's bell rang throughout the lecture hall, signifying the impending start of their upcoming classes.

"We'll decide the order of lessons next week." Croix began. "For now, I want you girls to do some general research and find out what you want to learn about with regards to Magitronics. Does that sound good?"

Her question was met with a number of sounds of affirmation. Croix shrugged.

"Then, I'll see you all next week."

* * *

Chariot watched in endearment as Akko persevered through the extra practical magic lessons that she was giving the girl on performance magic. They were currently residing in one of Luna Nova's empty court yards. Chariot herself was sitting comfortably to the side by a fountain, observing the brunette as she worked hard. She was also on standby to jump in if something went wrong.

For some reason, the hyperactive girl had become very keen on mastering the art of Fireworks enchantment. And Chariot, being the doting professor she was, gladly took it upon herself to help the girl master this feat.

"Ngghh! Grr... nng!"

"Akko! You're going to blow a blood vessel if you strain yourself this much!"

The red-haired witch's smile widened even more so when she observed a certain _prodigal_ blonde assist her with these said lessons. Chariot wondered how in the world Diana found the time to help the brunette out, especially given the Cavendish's hectic schedule. However... once she actually thought about it, the redheaded witch shouldn't have been that surprised.

 _I mean... back then Croix also took the time to help me out too._

Suddenly, the professor felt a familiar presence appear beside her. A gust of wind flew by which caused Chariot to temporarily close her eyes. Once she opened them, an old friend had physically appeared by her side. She welcomed the woman with a warm smile.

" _Well doesn't that bring back some nice memories_?" Woodward mused aloud.

"Hello, Professor Woodward." Chariot greeted, "How have you been?"

" _I've been as well as an Olde Witch can be._ " the etherial woman answered. " _In other words: not too bad._ "

The redheaded witch playfully rolled her eyes at her old mentor's roundabout way of communicating.

"So what brings you here, Professor?"

" _I can't visit an old student of mine without the gesture being questioned?_ "

Chariot gave her a sidelong glance that displayed she was unconvinced. She then sighed, "You don't usually show up unless you've got some prophetic message to deliver."

Her statement was met with silence. But then the Olde Witch chuckled. " _I guess you're not wrong..."_ Woodward began, " _but rather than a 'prophetic message,' I'm just here to advise caution._ "

Chariot quirked a brow at that.

" _I heard Croix is back._ "

The professor tried not to lash out at the Olde Witch for being cautious of that fact. However, she did feel defensive on Croix's behalf. She didn't want the lilac-haired witch's past mistakes to define her. Deep down, Chariot knew that Croix was still the same girl from all those years ago, who was passionate about magic and learning its secrets.

Anyways, if Chariot let that kind of thing cloud her judgement, then she wouldn't even be talking to Woodward.

The etherial being _was_ one of the driving forces behind Croix and Chariot's falling out.

It would seem that Woodward sensed the change in Chariot's demeanour. " _I am not saying this to create rift between you two again."_ The Olde Witch let out a weary sigh. " _The Nine knows that I would do anything to right that wrong..._ "

The redheaded witch turned her head in surprise at that last part Woodward confessed. Out of all the things that a practical _God_ could regret, Chariot didn't think that her relationship with Croix would be on that list. She imagined that Woodward had to make many difficult decisions throughout her years of existing. And it was crazy to think that Chariot and Croix weighed heavily on her mind.

Chariot didn't know how to feel.

"It's not too late to make amends, you know..." Chariot regarded her with warm eyes. "Rather than fixing the relationship between Croix and I... I think you want to fix the relationship that _you_ had with Croix. We _both_ know that my relationship with Croix is something that _I_ have to deal with myself."

Woodward regarded her words carefully. After a moment, the Olde Witch smiled nostalgically at the redhead. " _Who knew that I would be the one who would need guidance._ "

Chariot giggled.

" _So how would you suggest I go on about that?_ " the Olde Witch questioned. " _I imagine just popping by like I do with you wouldn't be well received._ "

Chariot opened her mouth to answer her... but then she closed it.

 _Huh... that's actually a good question..._

However before she could ponder about all of that out loud...

 _BOOM!_

"A-AHH! I'M ON FIRE!"

"A-Akko! Calm down, I'll put you ou- AHHH! MY SKIRT!"

Chariot immediately bolted towards the two students who set themselves on fire. She made sure to give the Olde Witch a thoughtless suggestion.

"I-I don't know... she like's cup noodles!? Maybe start with that!"

As she ran, she hoped that Woodward didn't take her suggestion to heart. Although, the prospect of the Olde Witch calling for a ceasefire with Croix using the power of cup noodles was rather entertaining to think about.

She quickly looked over her shoulder to see if Woodward was still there. All she saw was a whirlwind of leaves being blown away where the woman had been.

 _She wouldn't... would she?_

"H-How did it get on my hair?!"

"Stay away from me Akko! I just put my skirt out!"

Chariot quickly buried her worries and focused on the situation at hand.

 _Woodward's a wise Olde Witch... she wouldn't do something so... weird._

* * *

Croix tapped furiously against her laptop while sipping on the remnants of her noodle bowl.

She was currently compiling and transferring key research points about the Wagandea Curse that Luna Nova's Archive's could offer. Her desk was filled with countless tomes containing the pertinent information. She had been going through this process for the past couple of hours.

Just as she was about to open up another book, Croix heard someone knock on her door.

 _knock! knock! knock!_

Croix frowned. It was about 12:00 o'clock in the morning... who would be calling on her at such an hour?

She slowly got up from her desk, and slightly winced at how ridiculously _stiff_ her legs felt. She stretched herself out before answering the door, and made a mental note of taking breaks to stretch while she researched about the curse.

Once she opened the door, she was immediately hit with a gust of wind; which was strange considering that she was still technically _indoors._

She thought nothing of it.

"Who's there? Ah-"

She looked down and was pleasantly surprised by what was left at her door step.

Placed before her, with an enticing cloud of steam seeping from the top of it...

was a freshly brewed cup noodle.

* * *

 **LOL so the updates to this story are going to be SUPER SPORADIC.** **But don't worry, I don't intend on abandoning it! I still got plaaans.**

 **Anyways... thanks for reading! And I hope you guys are still enjoying it!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's a little update for you my dear readers xD**

* * *

Diana gave the dark, oak-wood door across her room three hefty raps.

The young girl waited patiently as she heard the faint sound of panic emanate the other side of the door. She could make out the sound of hurried footsteps, and a sudden loud _thud!_ that was followed by muttered profanities. The young Cavendish was about to knock once more for good measure, but then the door swung wide open just when she raised her hand.

"Hah... I-I'm ready!" The lavender-haired professor blurted out as she tried to catch her breath.

Diana quirked a brow at Croix, and then gave her an unconvinced once-over.

The older witch sported a very impressive bedhead, and had dark bags under her eyes that obviously showed her exhaustion; probably from researching the Wagandea Curse the night prior. Diana could also see the remnants of what she believed to be _soup stains_ on the collar of the professor's white undershirt that her green poncho _barely_ managed to cover.

A verbal lashing about professionalism and put together appearances was on the tip of the blonde witch's tongue, but after a moment of reconsideration, she opted not to berate the already _worn out_ professor in front of her. Seriously, Croix looked like she was about ready to pass out, and the day didn't even technically _start_ yet.

Instead, Diana simply sighed heavily.

"Right." The scholarly witch deadpanned as she gestured for the woman to follow her. "Shall we?"

Croix swiftly shut the door behind her, and fell in line with Diana's stride. "Of course! Lead the way."

Diana did just that.

Their walk towards the lecture halls was rather quiet this time around. The young Cavendish was positive that the silence was mostly attributed to the fact that Croix seemed _dead tired_. Usually, during their trek towards their respective lecture halls, Croix would initiate a conversation with Diana (or at least try to). However, today it was more than obvious to Diana that the lilac-haired witch was trying not to fall asleep while she was standing up.

Soon, the older woman's head started to nod off every once in a while, which caused the blonde witch to feel slightly concerned.

She already assumed that Croix was the type of person who obsessively poured herself into her research, but she didn't know to what extent the older witch would push herself. And judging from exhaustion that Croix displayed at the moment, Diana had a feeling that the lilac-haired witch had a tendency to be self-destructive whenever she got like this.

 _Wait... am I actually getting worried over CROIX of all people?!_

The blonde witch inwardly scoffed at herself.

Diana's task was to simply guide the blasted woman around the school, and keep her in check. Technically, Croix's health wasn't supposed to be a concern of hers!

"Did you get enough sleep?"

But that didn't stop the young witch from wanting to help.

Her innate, Cavendish ways wouldn't freaking _let_ her be uncaring towards the infuriating woman's health. Which was a fact that made the young witch groan internally to no end. However, instead of openly displaying how perturbed she truly was at herself for actually _caring_ for Croix... Diana simply waited for the woman to answer her question with an even expression.

Initially, the lilac-haired woman jumped in surprise at the sudden prompt. Croix then eyed Diana suspiciously, and began to playfully inch away from her.

"What are you plotting, child."

"I mean this with all due respect, Professor... but the only thing that I'd be 'plotting' against you is finding out a way to get you to wear something other than that horrid green poncho."

In response, Croix held a hand at her chest and let out a mildly offended gasp.

Diana sighed at the older witch's dramatics, and tried to inquire about her health again.

"I'm just concerned that you're going to pass out in the middle of the hallway, Professor."

The young witch waited briefly for Croix to quip back at her, but was somewhat surprised when she was met with an abashed gaze. The older witch stared down at the blonde, while she scratched the back of her head with a small, guilty smile.

"Jeez, is it that obvious that I'm tired?"

"Yes it is." Diana deadpanned.

However, before Croix could get in another word, two familiar voices chimed in from behind them.

"Diana!"

"O-Oi! Akko, it's too early to be this loud in the hallways!"

Diana simply turned to greet the two women with a small smile, and was met with the endearing scene of Akko being lightly reprimanded by Professor Chariot. The young brunette was offering the redhead an apologetic, bashful grin. The said redhead, on the other hand, smiled exasperatedly down at the girl.

"You should listen to your mentor, Akko." the blonde witch lightly teased.

As Akko and Professor Chariot caught up to them, the brunette playfully sighed. "Jeeez, stop ganging up on me you two!" she then turned to Croix, "Professor Croix, back me up here-Gehhh... _wow Croix_ , you look like _cra-OUCH_!"

The blonde witch arched an amused brow as she watched Akko's mentor smack her upside the head.

"Akko! That's no way to speak to a professor!" The redheaded witch reprimanded. Then, at a break neck pace, the glasses-clad professor whipped around and pointed an accusing finger at Croix. "And _YOU!_ "

Diana then watched in entertainment as Croix's eyes widened in panic. "M-Me?!"

Soon, Professor Chariot began to stomp her way towards the lilac-haired woman, and stopped directly in front of her. The redhead intensely scrutinized the taller witch with an unwavering gaze, which caused the said taller witch to become uneasy. Croix simply looked at everything _but_ the woman before her, and even felt desperate enough to direct a pleaful gaze towards Diana herself.

Diana blankly stared back at the woman, and shook her head ever so slightly.

"You traitorous little-!"

"You haven't been getting enough sleep, have you?" Professor Chariot promptly interjected.

Croix turned back to the woman who spoke and seemed to finally meet the other Professor's gaze. She gulped. "I _may_ have lost track of time while I was doing some research last night and-"

"AND! what are those stains on your shirt?!" the fiery professor continued on. "You wouldn't hear the end of it if someone like Professor Finneran saw you looking like this!"

"I've been _meaning_ to do my laundry!" Croix tried to defend herself, "But I have no freaking idea where to put my dirty clothes! The woodland workers haven't visited me to ask if I had any yet..." Diana then continued to watch as the lilac-haired woman pulled at her collar nervously. "And those stains just miiight be-"

"I swear by the Nine if you say that they're _cup noodle_ stains..."

Suddenly, the two young witches that were observing the interaction jumped when Croix groaned.

"There's _nothing wrong_ with eating cup noodles! I was gifted one last night!" the taller witch childishly exclaimed. "and I'm not going to turn away a _free_ cup noodle. Regardless if it was mysteriously placed in front of my doorstep... which I guess in hindsight I should have questioned a little bit more before I accepted it, but I digress!" The woman then jabbed a finger towards the redheaded witch. "Cup noodles are _great!_ "

"There's _barely_ any nutritional value in those things and-! Wait..." Professor Chariot paused, and gave the other woman a look of confusion. "Did you just say someone left a cup noodle in front of your doorstep?!"

Croix quirked a brow. "Er... Yes?"

An expression of incredulity and mirth briefly came across the redheaded woman's face. However, Chariot's surprise was short-lived, and she seemed to decide to not address the fact that Croix accepted a suspicious cup noodle. Instead, Chariot let out a weary sigh, and stared up at the other witch in genuine concern. Her crimson eyes seemed to bore into Croix's, and the young blonde witch could almost _feel_ the raw emotion pouring out of the redhead's gaze.

"Croix, I'm not going to tell you to stop what you're doing." the redheaded witch began, "but please... _pace yourself._ I know how immersed you can get with your research, and I've seen you at your worse..."

"I'm not at my worse right now-"

"But this is how it starts." Chariot interrupted, her voice small. "Sure, you're at least eating _something_ right now... but how long is it going to be when you start completely skipping your meals? Or when you stop sleeping? Croix, I don't want to see you get like that."

"Chariot..."

The lilac-haired witch seemed to struggle to try and find the words to articulate how she felt. So for a couple of moments, the two women just stood there in silence. Both of them appeared to be stuck in their own little world.

Soon, Diana had to fight the urge to shift on her feet as she watched the interaction. This particular scene just felt so... intimate, and the blonde witch couldn't help but feel that she and Akko were somehow intruding.

However, before Diana could clear her throat to signify that she was going to take her leave (with Akko), Croix began to lift her right hand. The Cavendish girl then watched with wide eyes as Croix continued on to caress Professor Chariot's cheek.

 _Now I definitely feel like I"m intruding on something..._

The blonde witch briefly flitted her gaze towards Akko, who incidentally was _beaming_ a scandalized smile at the two women behind her hand. Diana could feel the tips of her own mouth twitching upward, and simply shook her head at the other girl's reaction. But when she turned back around to face Croix and Chariot...

 _Smack!_

The young Cavendish turned just in time to watch Croix lightly smack the other side of Professor Chariot's face with her left hand, and held it there. She then started to outright _pinch_ the redheaded witch's cheeks, and squish her face between her hands with a blank expression.

"C-Cwoii?" Professor Chariot tried to question as she had her face squished between the other woman's hands.

"Jeeez, Chariot..." Croix droned while pinching and squishing Chariot's face, "you know I don't make the same mistake twice, right?"

"Wha-?"

Professor Croix grinned at the redhead, and playfully huffed.

"I don't intend on burning myself out, Chari." the lilac-haired witch began, while firmly placing her hands on the other professor's shoulders. From where Diana was standing, she could see the soft and tender gaze that Croix was sending down towards the redhead. "I mean... if I end up doing that, then who's going to find the cure to the Wagandea Curse?"

Chariot gazed back at the taller witch in silence, seemingly unconvinced by the reassurance that Professor Croix was trying to give her. It appeared that the former prodigy caught onto the redhead's unease, and she sighed deeply.

"Listen... I know I got a little carried away last night, but that was only because the library _finally_ granted me some access to the Archives here at Luna Nova." She then chuckled guiltily. "And when I got all that research and information, I got a little ahead of myself and got really, erm... excited at the thought of getting somewhere with this whole curse thing. But if it makes you uneasy, then I promise that I'll take care of myself and not get too immersed in what I'm doing, okay?"

The beginnings of a worried pout made its way onto her lips. "D-Do you mean that?"

"Every word."

"You'll make sure to go to bed at a reasonable time?"

"I'll send you a goodnight message every night if that's what you want."

Chariot's eyes widened marginally at Croix's statement. "You don't have to go that far..." she smiled regardless. "but okay."

" _A-Ahem!_ "

Diana gave the brunette next to her an amused smirk. She didn't think that _Akko_ would be the one to interrupt this rather endearing moment. Both of the professors, on the other hand, finally realized where they were and jumped away from each other like they had been electrically shocked. Chariot's face became engulfed in a rather embarrassed flush. Whereas Croix's embarrassment made itself apparent in the form of a faint, light pink hue on her cheeks.

Before Akko could even continue on to speak, Professor Chariot made her way towards the hyperactive girl and began making a fuss.

"Ohoho~ well we should stop all of this dilly-dallying and make our way to our classes!" the redheaded witch exclaimed as she grabbed the young brunette by the collar. "Shall we be off, Akko?"

"Wha-?" the brunette tried to get in, "P-Profess-URK"

The Cavendish witch observed with entertainment as Professor Chariot _dragged_ the poor girl away.

Suddenly, the lilac-haired witch in front of her sighed. "Well... that happened."

"Indeed it did." Diana remarked while she too made her way towards their lecture halls. Albeit, they trekked at a more leisure pace compared to both Akko and Chariot (who were basically borderline _running_ away).

Croix fell in line with her stride, and they walked in comfortable silence once more.

"So... _Chari_ , huh?"

"Shut it, Cavendish."

* * *

A certain Filipino witch listened absentmindedly as Akko made a big deal out of something that was already pretty obvious (well, at least to Sucy).

It was their free period, and they opted to migrate to an empty lecture hall to hang out. They would have gone to Professor Croix's lecture hall, but apparently the woman was worn out from researching the night before and taking a nap. So they decided to let the woman be, and left her alone... for now.

"They were so cute!" Akko gushed, "Kinda weird... but mostly cute!"

Everyone else simply let out phrases of surprise, and small giggles at the girl's retelling of her early morning events. Sucy, however, didn't find the revelation too surprising.

She suspected that the two older witches had somewhat of a history, even without witnessing their interactions that Akko described. How could they not know that Croix was probably madly in love with Chariot? The lilac-haired witch practically _vowed_ to Chariot that she would restore the woman's ability to fly, and find a cure to an allegedly incurable ailment.

 _I'm positive that kind of declaration falls under the 'more than friends' category..._

But that was just Sucy's opinion.

"How romantic~" both Barbara and Lotte breathily sighed.

The mushroom-enthusiast's attention fully shifted onto the Nightfall-fanatic duo who were situated right beside her.

"Doesn't it remind you of how Edgar and-!"

"Yeah, Yeah!" Lotte immediately agreed before Barbara could actually describe the books content. "And then him and Belle-!"

"Oh my God, Yes!" Barbara exclaimed, and then sighed dreamily. "And when they found each other again, the confession scene was just so..."

"Romantic~!" they both finished with literal hearts filling their eyes.

Sucy simply blinked in utter confusion at the interaction. She then opted to direct her gaze towards the rest of the girls in their group, and found that they were also completely lost too. But instead of simply moving on from the ginger and dark-haired girls antics (like the group usually did when they started talking about Night Fall), Akko seemed be mildly interested and decided to indulge them.

"Uhh... so how'd the confession scene go...?" The brunette witch tentatively questioned.

Suddenly, both of the Night Fall fangirls slammed their hands against their lecture desk, and leaned down towards the witch sitting at the row in front of them. This abrupt movement caused the said brunette witch to grab onto a certain _Cavendish_ girls arm that was sitting right next to her. Which in turn resulted in the blonde witch's cheeks flushing in a very impressive pink tint.

"It was filled with so much emotion and longing!" Lotte began. Beside her, Barbara was nodding fervently to confirm the ginger witch's claim. "You see, after a falling out between Edgar and Belle over how they should've handled the threat of Arthur's wolf pack, they literally don't see each other for _years_ -!"

"- that's when a mini-series centred around each of their characters is introduced, and it mainly encompasses their character development outside of their relationship!" Barbara added on.

"Yeah! And _after_ that mini-series, they _reunite_ but something seemed to change in Edgar. He was a lot more pragmatic, and developed a disregard for humanity. Belle, on the other hand, somewhat lost her spark... but when they _see each other_..."

"That spark reignites!" Barbara declared.

"They happen pass by each other as they were idly walking on the streets of France, and once they actually _see_ one another its like they finally found the missing piece of their puzzle!" Lotte exclaimed as she sighed dreamily. "Edgar immediately closes the distance between them, and stares longingly down into Belle's eyes; he then tilts her chin up and says-!"

" _Belle, out of the thousands of years I have existed within this time plane, I have never felt a love as strong as the love that I have for you._ " the girls finished together as they squealed like banshees.

Everyone gawked at the girls explanation of the supposed 'romantic confession scene.' Honestly, to Sucy, it all just sounded like some cornily-written fan fiction.

"That's-" Sucy began.

"Romantic?" Barbara interjected.

"Passionate?" Lotte added.

"Stupid." the Filipino witch deadpanned.

Both Lotte and Barbara dramatically gasped at Sucy's bluntness. Suddenly, the dark-haired witch pointed a vindictive finger at the mushroom-enthusiast, and huffed.

" _You_ wouldn't know romance if it rammed into you like a truck!"

"Yeah!" the Finnish witch avidly agreed. Which in turn, caused Sucy to lift a mildly entertained brow. Usually, Lotte wasn't the type to get worked up about something, but apparently Night Fall was the exception to that fact.

"Oh _really_?" Sucy challenged, as she mainly directed her attention at the riled up ginger beside her.

"Yeah, really!" Lotte reaffirmed. "The only thing you get passionate about are your potions! I bet you can't even _begin_ to pull off a romantic confession like Edgar-!"

 _SLAM!_

All of the girls jumped when Sucy suddenly slammed a hand against their lecture desk.

She ignored the surprised looks that she was getting from their audience, and focused on the ginger witch before her that _dared_ to challenge her. She then leaned in towards the shorter, Finnish girl and smirked. In response, the said Finnish girl simply gulped audibly while everyone else seemed to silently anticipate the Filipino witch's next move.

Sucy continued on to lift her right hand to lightly tilt the other girl's chin upwards. She became very aware that their faces were merely inches apart, but quickly shoved that thought down so she wouldn't get embarrassed by what she was doing. Her gaze began to soften as she stared down at the short girl, who was incidentally gazing right back at her with wide eyes. The Filipino inwardly chuckled at Lotte's expression.

In an uncharacteristically soft tone... Sucy began to speak.

"Lotte, with a voice as sweet and beautiful as yours, how could you not expect me to fall in love?"

Then... dead silence.

 _Why isn't anyone saying anything._

Okay, so half of the reason Sucy even did all of this was to _prove_ to Lotte that she was capable of being 'Romantic' or whatever. She was challenged, and the Filipino girl (although she would never admit it) never liked backing down from one. And the other half of the reason? Well...

It was true.

She really did like, if not _love_ , Lotte.

Which she pretty much just _declared_ in front of all of their friends, and the Finnish girl herself.

Sucy quickly realized her feelings for the Night Fall fanatic about a month ago, and there was no way in hell she was going to dance around her feelings like a certain Prodigy and knucklehead she knew. Sucy didn't think she had the emotional capacity to go through the mental strain of denying her feelings for the ginger. So she just hastily decided to-

" _Wow!_ Good job, Sucy!"

 _What._

"That's exactly how Edgar would confess. You actually had my heart beating really fast just now!" She then turned around to question the dumbfounded, other Night Fall lover next to her. "Isn't that right, Barbara?"

The dark-haired witch seemed to snap out of it, and tentatively agreed with Lotte's claim. Soon, the two girls began discussing the various love confessions in the Night Fall series. Completely overlooking the fact that Sucy _just_ (kind of) told Lotte about her feelings.

Sucy, on the other hand, resisted the overwhelming urge to slam her entire face against the lecture hall desk.

 _Oh... My God._

 _She's... She's just as oblivious as Akko._

She then heard a certain _American_ witch snicker from the row above her.

"Heh, looks like you're stuck in the same ship as Diana..." Amanda whispered with a small, teasing smirk.

Honestly, at this point, Sucy could only sigh.

"I guess I am."

* * *

 **Hehehe well that was a chapter xD.**

 **Hope you guys are still enjoying the fic!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Whaaat?! an UPDATE!?**

* * *

Diana took a bite out of the fruit tart in her hand, and relished in its sweet taste.

The young Cavendish and her group of friends were in the cafeteria having an early lunch. So there the blonde witch sat, with the Red and Green teams, at a vacant cafe table. For the most part, the girls were talking about random topics; but at a point, their conversations veered towards the Ball that was coming around the corner.

From her periphery, the blonde witch could vaguely see a certain _brunette_ inch her hand towards the untouched fruit tart on her plate.

 _Smack!_

"Y _ouch!_ "

"The tart is mine."

"Stingy!" Akko pouted. "You already have one!"

"I _want_ , and _will have_ two." Diana calmly retorted with a tone of finality.

Akko stuck her tongue out in response to Diana's statement. She ignored Akko's childish behaviour, and proceeded to eat the second fruit tart while holding the brunette's gaze. If it were possible, Akko's pout deepened even more so. Feeling a little bad for the girl, Diana rolled her eyes and offered her the second half of the tart.

Akko beamed a megawatt smile at her, and ate the rest of it happily.

"Isn't that like... an indirect kiss?"

It was a good thing Diana did not have a tart in her mouth because she certainly would have _choked_ on it. No, instead of choking, all she did was _glare_ at the bloody redhead for what seemed to be the millionth time that day. She also heard the snickers of a (just as infuriating) Filipino witch that followed her statement.

Akko, who was too busy enjoying the desert, didn't hear the redhead. However, after a split-second the brunette realized she was being spoken to, and she cocked her head slightly to the side in unabashed curiosity as she met Amanda's gaze. It was a minuscule action that affected Diana more than it should have.

 _How can someone be this endearingly cute..._

Diana mentally shook her head.

 _WHAT am I even thinking!?_

Once she refocused her attention on the American witch in front of her, she didn't fail to notice the devillish smirk the girl was sending her way. Diana narrowed her eyes in suspicion towards the cheeky redhead. She silently _dared_ the girl to say another needlessly suggestive remark. Apparently, Amanda was going to take her up on that silent dare because she opened her mouth to continue on with her blasted blabbering.

That was when Diana swiftly whipped out her wand.

The said wand was then snatched out of her hand.

"Oh no you don't!" Sucy exclaimed, holding the wand out of Diana's reach.

"What are you-!?"

"Diana... you were holding it like a dart," the Filipino witch deadpanned. "I know for a fact that you weren't going to shut her up with a _spell._ "

Diana could only huff at Sucy's (not so far off) observation. Amanda, on the other hand, widened her eyes in shock at her narrowly missed fate of becoming the blonde witch's potential 'dart board.' She watched as the redhead turned to give Sucy a fist-bump in some ridiculous form of solidarity; which was surprisingly returned by the said Filipino witch - both of them sported mirroring smirks as they did this action.

Thankfully, they decided to stop with their incessant, immature behaviour right there.

The rest of their lunch went by in relative peace, with the only other rowdy occurrence being an unofficial 'sweet-eating' contest between one Akko Kagari and one Jasminka Antonenko. Diana never knew why the brunette always insisted on challenging the Russian girl in such contests. It was more than obvious that Jasminka would come out on top - the girl was a literal vacuum.

"Geh... I feel like I'm gonna throw up..." Akko groaned as she made gagging noises into her hand.

Sucy snickered at the brunette. "Well that's what you get for challenging _Jasminka_ , of all people, to a food eating contest."

Suddenly, the hyperactive girl shot up from her chair and pointed a determined finger at the Russian witch. "One of these days I _will prevail_ over you, Jas!"

"And I will gladly accept any and all challenges that you have for me until you do beat me - that is, _if_ you ever do." Jasminka giggled. She then looked off to the giant clock hanging at the end of the cafeteria wall. "Oh! We should get going to our cooking class now!"

"N-No! I don't think that I can handle anymore _eating_."

"Then maybe you can do the cooking with us, Akko." Lotte suggested.

"Unless you want to get food poisoning or possibly _die,_ then I don't think that'd be the best idea..."

"S-Sucy!"

The Filipino witch shrugged unapologetically at the Finnish girl that tried to admonish her. The rest of the girls, on the other hand, laughed good-naturedly at Sucy's statement. Even Diana let out a little giggle at the (rather crass) way Sucy described Akko's affinity, or lack thereof, for culinary magic. She knew firsthand how horribly the poor Japanese girl would utterly _botch_ her cooking spells, and because of that...

Culinary magic was the _one_ thing Diana would never help Akko with... _ever again._

Just thinking about the first, and last, time she helped Akko with her magical cooking skills made the Cavendish girl feel a little nauseous.

 _How she managed to make Japanese confectionery taste like raw, rotten fish is beyond me..._

Suddenly, the sound of the school's warning bells had rung throughout the cafeteria.

In one quick motion, Jasminka picked Akko up and threw her over her shoulder. All of the girls simply watched as if nothing was inherently strange with what the Russian witch was doing - mostly because they were sure that Akko couldn't properly stand on her own. Also... it wouldn't be the first time Jasminka had to lug around the Japanese girl in such a manner.

Akko groaned. "Ughhh... Jas, could ya be a little more gentle? I'm gonna yack all over your back..."

"Oops! Sorry, Akko! But I don't want us to be late for our culinary magic class!" Jasminka turned towards Amanda with a friendly smile. "We'll see you, Diana and Sucy at the end of the day for dinner. Have fun with your Advanced Potions lessons."

In response, the three mentioned witches simply bid Jasminka and the others a friendly farewell.

Diana watched their receding forms with a small smile. Truthfully, it was quite amusing seeing Akko being flopped around like a bag of flour on Jasminka's back. In the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder _where_ the Russian witch got her inhuman strength. It was outlandish, to say the least.

"Heh... thinking of something perverted, Cavendish?"

Her smile all but wiped off her face.

She turned towards the blasted American and scowled. "Shouldn't you be reviewing for our Potions lessons?"

"Trying to change the subject, I see." Amanda leaned back, tilting her chair backwards as she held her hands behind her head. Diana had half the mind to push her even further, so she would fall onto the ground. She resisted the profound urge to do so.

Sucy smirked. "Y'know, I enjoy teasing Diana as much as you do but she's got a point. Lukić is going to have your head if you don't properly revise for her lessons."

"Bah! What's the worst thing that crone could do?"

"Make you the guinea pig for our potions?" Sucy drawled as she continued to smile like a madwoman. "If I can remember correctly... we'll be starting the transmutation unit today..." she flitted her gaze towards Diana, sending her a suggestive look.

Catching onto her intention, she hummed - effectively grabbing the (now slightly panicked) American witch's attention.

"Ah... that's right." Diana confirmed as she stroked her chin in feigned contemplation. She turned to Amanda, and tilted her head to the side. "How do you think it would feel like to turn into a mug? I imagine that it would be uncomfortable, if not _painful_ , considering that your bone structure would have to morph to fit the properties of such an item."

Amanda flinched and scrunched her face up in fear.

"Forget _sensation_... imagine the _taste_ of the potion." Sucy added on.

Even Diana grimaced at that statement, along with the thoroughly mortified American witch sitting next to her.

Lukić was a very hands-on teacher. So more often times than not, her students (which included Diana, Sucy, and Amanda), were required to 'taste-test' some of the potions themselves. The young Cavendish was convinced that Lukić made her students ingest their own potions for her personal amusement. There was something _sadistic_ about the old witch's laugh whenever a student's concoction went awry.

"Ugh... _fine._ I'll review for the stupid class already! Stop trying to scare me." Amanda grumbled as she opened up her Advanced Potion's tome.

Diana and Sucy smiled in satisfaction when the redhead began studying her notes.

The girls stayed like this for a while, silently passing time by reviewing for their class (or in Sucy's case: blankly staring off into space). Recently, the young Cavendish often found herself in the presence of these two quirky witches. Interestingly enough, Amanda and Sucy were close to her in terms of intellect. At least when they actually focused on their studies.

The atmosphere around the unlikely trio was... comfortable. Maybe even peaceful.

"I'm bored."

 _I bloody jinxed it._

Diana sighed. "I'd tell you to review for Lukić's class too, but I'm sure that wouldn't be necessary. At least for you."

"Ooh~ Praise me more, Diana." Sucy droned flatly as she rested her chin on her right hand. Something in the Cavendish almost snapped in that moment. It must've been the infuriating grin Sucy directed towards her.

"I wasn't praising you, Manbavaran."

"Heh... it sounded like praise to me." Amanda interjected, her tome completely forgotten on the table.

"O'Neill, get back to work."

Diana resisted the urge to let out a frustrated groan when Amanda responded by _closing_ her potions tome. Knowing that she wasn't going to get the rowdy witches to focus any more, she closed her book too.

She was probably spending way too much time with these girls because she actually decided to humour them.

And if Diana were being quite honest with herself?

She was kind of bored too.

"So what do you guys have in mind?"

Amanda and Sucy stared back at her like she grew another head. Diana simply gazed back at them flatly, and waited for an answer.

"In mind for what?" Sucy asked slowly.

Diana quirked a brow at the Filipino girl. "To satisfy your boredom for the next fifteen minutes?" she then sighed when they didn't catch on to what she suggested. "If you're both going to be disruptive, I might as well make sure things don't get carried away."

Again, there was a brief period of silence after she spoke. But that silence was soon broken by one Amanda O'Neill. The American witch grinned. "Cavendish is totally bored too."

"I... will neither confirm nor deny that statement."

She saw Sucy playfully roll her eyes in response to what she said, but then she felt unsettled when the girl began to mirror Amanda's smirk. There was something about the way these girls _smiled_ that made Diana feel on edge. Usually, when their lips were upturned in _any_ kind of way, it meant that they were planning something.

"So~ whatcha wanna talk about?"

Diana tilted her head to the side in confusion.

 _What?_

"You just want to talk...?"

"Uhh yeah?" Amanda answered her, quirking her own brow. "Like you said, we only have like fifteen minutes until our class starts. That's not enough time to actually _do_ something."

Sucy chuckled. "Were you expecting us to conjure up a potion to blow up the cafeteria?"

"Quite honestly: Yes."

The other witches simply shrugged at her deadpan answer. The prospect of the duo wreaking havoc in some form wasn't all that 'out-of-pocket' for them - especially considering who they were. Sucy and Amanda were _notorious_ for causing trouble. They weren't as bad as Akko, per se... but they were up there.

"Well we can put 'blowing up the cafeteria' on the backburner..." Amanda waved her off, clearly intrigued at the idea. "For now lets just get our 'girl-talk' on!"

Diana gave the girl a brief, suspicious look. However, she quickly deemed this turn of events as harmless. She then opened her mouth to start a conversation about her take on the 'Nine Olde Witches' and their inherent powers, but Sucy had beat her to it.

"So what're you going to do about your crush on Akko."

Diana almost choked on air.

"The _hell,_ Sucy?!" Amanda whipped her head towards the other girl. "I thought you said we had to slowly _ease_ into the topic!"

"It was taking _too long_." Sucy groaned.

Diana would've responded promptly to the girl's blasted question, but she was too busy fighting off a furious blush. She could feel her cheeks burning (in either embarrassment or anger, she wasn't even sure herself). When Diana regained a portion of her composure, she cleared her throat.

"I do not-!" She squeaked out. Diana cleared her throat once more, and resisted the urge to groan in frustration. "I _do not_ have a 'crush' on Akko," she repeated more steadily.

Sucy and Amanda gazed at her with their own respective, mildly unimpressed stares. Diana frowned - crossing her arms in adamance. She wanted to make it clear that she wasn't going to budge on her statement.

"Seriously?" Amanda rolled her eyes. "You're going to make us list the _many examples_ that point to you having a mad crush on Akko..."

"I'd rather skip that conversation," Sucy chimed in. "That list is _long_ and _repetitive_."

Diana was about to protest to their accusations, but then Sucy interrupted her... again.

"If you're so sure about your feelings, then why don't we do a little experiment?"

The blonde witch narrowed her eyes at the other girl's proposition.

" _Relax,_ it won't involve any potions." Sucy huffed. However, her signature smirk slowly crawled its way onto her face. "Just the power of visualization."

 _That... seems innocent enough._

Diana sighed. "Fine."

"Great," Sucy grinned. "Now close your eyes and visualize yourself with Akko."

The young blonde begrudgingly did as she was told.

She sighed sharply as she shut her eyes. Initially, everything was dark but soon enough her imagination took over and she visualized a rather pleasant scene. Diana could see herself on a broom, riding high in the sky with Akko holding onto her waist. Below them was the forest that surrounded their school. In the backdrop, she could see a sunset and a number of stray clouds painted in different hues of pinks and reds. They both were laughing gleefully with the wind blowing in their hair, and enjoying themselves to the fullest.

A small smile couldn't help but make its way onto her lips.

"What are you doing?" Sucy continued to prod.

Diana was about to promptly answer the Filipino witch, but then the scene continued on.

She watched as her simulated versions of herself and Akko began to fly at a steady pace. They adjusted themselves so they both sat on the broom 'princess-style,' and appeared to be watching the sunset together. That was when Diana took note of how _close_ they were. They were shoulder-to-shoulder - smiling at one another.

Time seemed to slow down around them. It was as if they were the last people on earth.

Diana's felt her mouth go dry.

Soon, she could see herself slowly leaning towards Akko and-

 _I_ _'m... kissing her._

Diana's eyes flew wide open.

 _Thank the Nine that I didn't say that out lou-_

Amanda gasped melodramatically and held an unnecessarily _wide_ smile on her lips. "Did...Did she just say she saw herself _k_ _issing_ Akko?!"

Diana wiped a hand across her face in exasperation.

"Oh Bollocks."

* * *

 **This chap was a little short, but I hope you guys still enjoyed it! And dw, this story isn't dead ;)**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **MediocreWriter.**


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